Interference is the interplay of two or more waveforms. When two or more waves with equal frequency and wavelength interfere, a new wave is created whose amplitude at any point in time and space is the sum of the amplitudes of the original waves at the same point in time and space. Constructive interference occurs when two waves of equal frequency are in phase. The amplitudes will always be in the same direction, and the waves will combine to produce a stronger one. Two equally strong waves with the same amplitude that are 180° out of phase will cancel each other out.

See also Interference Artifact.

A longitudinal wave is a waveform in which the particle motion is parallel to the direction of the wave travel. Sound propagates as longitudinal waves. A series of longitudinal waves make up the ultrasound beam.
A longitudinal wave is produced when a piezoelectric ceramic in an ultrasound transducer, transmits it's back and forth oscillation into a continuous, elastic medium. The particles of the medium are made to oscillate in the direction of the wave propagation, but are otherwise stationary.

The propagation of high amplitude ultrasound waves is inadequate described by a linear wave equation. Non-linear propagation is to expect if the power levels are high enough to make non-linear effects significant. A non-linear propagation results in the distortion of the transmitted waveforms, resulting in the generation of harmonics of the initial frequency components transmitted by the transducer.
In the near field of ultrasound probes, the occurring diffraction and focusing effects make this process complex. The distortion of a wavefront propagating in a medium in which the compressional phase moves slightly faster than the rarefactional phase, results is the conversion of some wave energy into higher harmonics of the fundamental frequency. The effect increases strongly with increasing wave amplitude.

Phase in ultrasound describes where the sound wave is in its cycle of amplitude change. Different waves oscillate at different frequencies, so time is often not a suitable measure of phase.
The phase shift is a difference in the phase or the temporal offset of the peaks of a waveform along one scan line.

See also Coherence, and Histogram.

(PI) The pulsatility index quantifies the shape of the blood velocity waveform by the ratio of the flow volume amplitude and mean flow volume.

See also Pulsatile Flow.