B-scan comined with D-scan (D=Depth) is used to avoid image inhomogeneity. Different transmitter signals for each depth are applied and prefiltered pseudoinversely according to the transfer properties of the covering tissue. Pulse compression techniques with nonlinearly frequency modulated signals are used to gain the required energy for inverse filtering.
D-scan is a modified C-scan used in nondestructive testing with the display of amplitudes. In the 2D graphical presentation, time of flight values are displayed in the top view on a test surface.

See also A-Scan, B-Scan and C-Scan.

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.

(d B/d t) Definition: The ratio between the amount of change in amplitude of the magnetic field (dB) and the time it takes to make that change (dt). Because changing magnetic fields can induce electrical fields, this is one area of potential concern for safety limits.
The value of dB/dt is measured in Tesla per second (T/s).

See also Directivity Index, Phon, and Decibel.

The dead or ring down zone is the distance from the front face of the transducer to the first echo that is identifiable. The signals from this region are unsuitable. The dead zone is the result of transducer ringing and reverberations from the interface between the transducer and the scanned object. Impedance matching between the transducer and the receiver is important to avoid electrical ringing.
With an increase of the frequency, the pulse length and the depth of the dead zone decrease, if all other parameters remain constant. The acoustic power also affects the depth of the dead zone.

(dB) A customary logarithmic measure most commonly used (in various ways) for measuring sound. Decibel is a way to express the ratio of two sound intensities: dB=10log10I1/I2 being I1 the reference. If one sound is 1 bel (10 decibel) 'louder' than another, this means the louder sound is 10 times louder than the fainter one. A difference of 20 decibel corresponds to an increase of 10 x 10 or 100 times in intensity.
The intensity of ultrasound decreases during the propagation and is measured in db/cm.
For sound pressure (the pressure exerted by the sound waves) 0 decibel equals 20 microPascal (μPa), and for ultrasonic power 0 decibel sometimes equals 1 picoWatt.

See also dB/dt, Phon, and Logarithms.