A system and method are provided for producing a signal filter to block clutter. An embodiment includes the steps of acquiring samples of a clutter signal, calculating eigenvectors and eigenvalues representing the clutter signal, comparing said eigenvalues to a threshold to distinguish between eigenvectors representing clutter and those representing noise or signal, and determining filter parameters using the comparison results. Embodiments of the invention allow for optimization of wall filters for different anatomical applications, such as different body parts, in ultrasound imaging. The clutter signal may include Doppler data, and may be acquired using a pulsed wave (PW) mode, although the filter itself may be used in scanning Doppler color mode. The resulting wall filter is optimized for blocking clutter that is comparable to the clutter of the sampled clutter signal.