The dimension of the ultrasound beam and the transducer array are the origin of the beam width artifact or volume averaging artifact. When the ultrasound beam is wider than the diameter of the lesion being scanned, normal tissues which lie immediately adjacent to the lesion arc included within the beam width, and their echotexture is averaged in with that of the lesion.
Thus, what appears to be the echogenicity of the lesion is really that of the lesion plus the averaged normal tissues. Because of volume averaging, cystic lesions may falsely appear to be solid, and some subtle solid lesions may become impossible to distinguish from surrounding normal tissue and, therefore, not identified at all.

See also Ultrasound Picture and Vector Array Transducer.

The blanking distance is the minimum sensing range in an ultrasound proximity sensor. Blanking distance is a function of the ring down time of the transducer as the transducer must ring down before it can receive the sound reflected from the tissue.

(CWD) Continuous wave (CW) Doppler is an ultrasound imaging mode, which records blood flow velocities along the length of the beam. Continuous wave Doppler uses different crystals to send and receive the signal. The transducer operating in continuous wave mode utilizes one half of the elements and is continuously sending sound waves of a single frequency while the other half is continuously receiving the reflected signals.
The advantages of a continuous wave transducer are a high sensitivity and no Nyquist limit. CW Doppler does not alias but has no depth precision and large gate. The beat frequency is the Doppler shift. CW Doppler echocardiography employs this technique to record the flow of blood through the cardiovascular system.

See also Cross Talk, Periorbital Doppler, and Mirror Artifact.

Damping is a process, material, design, and mounting technique used to reduce the pulse duration or ringing of the transducer. Special material is applied to the back of the transducer in order to reduce the amplitude and pulse length of the sound wave.
Damping improves axial resolution by reducing pulse length. Thereby the lateral resolution increases.

(DAC) Part of the interface that converts digital numbers from the computer into analog (ordinary) voltages or currents. In ultrasound systems e.g., the high voltage transmit amplifiers that drive the transducers might be controlled by digital to analog converters (DACs) to shape the transmit pulses for better energy delivery to the transducer elements.