Colorado Heart and Body Imaging is offering holiday gift certificates for scans of everything from hearts to colons to bones.

"It is a bit unusual, I'll admit," said Dr. James Ehrlich, medical director and founder of Colorado Heart and Body Imaging. "But when you think about it, there's really no better way to show a loved one, friend or valued employee how much you care."

Ehrlich suggests stuffing the pack-a-day smoker's stocking with a lung scan certificate. Exchanging the sausage-of-the-month club membership for a heart scan might not be a bad idea either.

"You might save a life or two," said Ehrlich, whose clinic sold about 125 certificates last year.

Colorado Heart and Body Imaging uses low-radiation electron beam tomography - basically a high-speed version of the CT scanner - to look inside a patient's heart, lungs, bones, colon and other body parts. The scanners can detect some early cancers, and in the case of the heart, early plaque buildup in the arteries.

Ehrlich started the company in 1997 and has locations in Denver, Texas and Washington, D.C.

A trip to the doctor isn't at the top of most holiday lists, but that's exactly what Norman Ricker found in his stocking last year. And it took him half a year to redeem the certificate.

But "if I hadn't had the test, I might have dropped over from a heart attack," Ricker said.

The 68-year-old retiree from Lakewood walks 3 miles a day with his wife, and both figured they were pretty healthy.

But the Rickers' daughters wanted their parents to be sure, so they bought them certificates for Ehrlich's clinic.

The scanner found lesions on Ricker's wife's liver that turned out to be harmless, and her heart was in good shape.

But Ricker was diagnosed with heavy plaque buildup in his heart. He took the information to his doctor and was subsequently tested at Kaiser and Exempla Lutheran Medical Center. He is now considering taking cholesterol-lowering drugs and eating a more healthy diet.

"I feel fortunate I had that test," he said.

Prices range from $225 to $975. Insurance covers the procedures for about 25 percent of patients, Ehrlich said.

If you really want to be trendy, go with the virtual colonoscopy, Colorado Heart and Body Imaging's latest offering. Only $975 for the gift that shows how much you really care.