We propose a shape-based solution for speckle removal from ultrasound images. The method is operable in both low contrast and high contrast imaging scenarios. The approach introduces shape information alongside structural information in the speckle removing filter. By iteratively minimizing a shape fidelity penalty to reduce speckle, the proposed filter facilitates superior segmentation of blood vessels. The effectiveness of the proposed method is established through experimentation on the ultrasound images of human blood vessels. The results show at more than 7% improvement in PSNR values compared to other state-of-the-art approaches. © 2019 IEEE.