Ultrasound technology allows doctors to "see" inside a patient without resorting to surgery. A transmitter sends high frequency sound waves into the body, where they bounce off the different tissues and organs to produce a distinctive pattern of echoes. A receiver "hears" the returning echo pattern and forwards it to a computer, which translates the data into an image on a television screen.  This test can identify abdominal aortic aneurysms. This is a bulging weak spot in the abdominal aorta, which supplies blood directly from the heart to the entire lower body. These aneurysms are relatively common and increase in prevalence with age.