The Computed Tomography (CT) exam, which is administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT®), is designed to assess the knowledge and skills of prospective CT technologists.
Click “Start Test” above to take a free Computed Tomography practice test!
Computed Tomography Exam Eligibility
To be eligible for the exam, you must meet ARRT’s supporting credential, structured education, clinical experience, and ethics requirements.
You must first be certified and registered in one of the following supporting disciplines:
- Radiography
- Nuclear Medicine Technology
- Radiation Therapy
Your Radiography or Radiation Therapy credential must be through ARRT. For Nuclear Medicine Technology, ARRT also accepts a credential from the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB).
You must complete 16 hours of structured education related to computed tomography. The education must:
- Reflect the current ARRT Computed Tomography Examination Content Specifications
- Include at least one credit from each of the four major content categories: Patient Care, Safety, Image Production, and Procedures
- Be completed within the 24 months immediately before you submit your postprimary application
You must also complete and document the required CT clinical procedures. Under the current ARRT requirements, you must:
- Complete at least 25 different procedures from ARRT's list of 67 CT procedures
- Complete between 3 and 5 repetitions of each procedure you use toward the requirement
- Document at least 125 total procedure repetitions
- Complete at least 30 repetitions using iodinated IV contrast media
Your clinical procedures must be completed independently, documented through your ARRT account, and verified by a certified and registered technologist or an interpreting physician. The clinical experience requirements must be completed within the 24 months immediately before you apply.
You must comply with the ARRT Standards of Ethics. When you apply, you must disclose any potential ethics violations that ARRT requires you to report, which may include certain criminal charges or convictions, military courts-martial, disciplinary actions by regulatory authorities or certification boards, and serious honor code violations.
Having a reportable ethics issue does not automatically make you ineligible. ARRT reviews potential violations and determines whether they affect your eligibility. If you have concerns about a potential violation, you may request an ethics review before applying.
CT Exam Outline
The Computed Tomography exam contains 195 questions, 30 of which are unscored, and you will be given a time limit of 195 minutes.
The exam is split into four content categories:
1. Patient Care (21 scored questions)
The questions in this category assess your knowledge and skills related to patient interactions, preparation, contrast media, medications, and patient management. These are the topics that are covered:
Patient Assessment and Preparation
- Scheduling, screening, and patient history
- Interpersonal communication
- Laboratory values
- Patient education and consent
- Safe patient transfers and ergonomics
- Removal of radiopaque materials and radiosensitive devices
- Positioning aids
- Time-out procedures
- Patient monitoring, including vital signs, ECG patterns, and oximetry
- Management of accessory medical devices
- Medications, dosages, and post-procedure instructions
- Infection control
Contrast and Medication
- Contrast media types and properties
- Special contrast considerations and contraindications
- Noncontrast medications
- Administration routes and dose calculations
- Venipuncture
- Manual and power injection techniques
- Power injector types and injection options
- Timing bolus, bolus tracking, and scan delay techniques
- Recognition and assessment of contrast or medication reactions
- Reaction severity, complications, and treatment
- Post-procedure care and documentation
2. Safety (21 scored questions)
The questions in this category assess your knowledge and skills related to radiation physics, radiation protection, and dose. SI units are the primary units of radiation measurement used on the exam.
These are the topics that are covered:
Radiation Physics
- X-ray production
- Target interactions
- X-ray beam properties and characteristics
- Frequency and wavelength
- Inverse square law
- Acquisition geometry
- Photon interactions with matter
- Attenuation in different tissues
Radiation Protection
- Patient dose reduction using exposure and acquisition parameters
- Shielding
- Patient positioning and communication
- Pediatric, adult, and pregnant patient considerations
- Absorbed dose and effective dose
- CT dose index (CTDI) and dose-length product (DLP)
- Dose notifications and alerts
- Adverse event reporting and documentation
- Personnel protection, controlled access, and education
3. Image Production (52 scored questions)
The questions in this category assess your knowledge and skills related to image formation, image evaluation, artifacts, and image management.
Image Formation
Components of a CT Unit
- Gantry components, including the X-ray tube, generator, detectors, data acquisition system, and slip rings
- Array processor and host computer
- External equipment, including the table, cables, accessories, and positioning straps
Imaging Parameters
- Peak kilovoltage (kVp)
- Milliampere-seconds (mAs)
- Pitch
- Collimation and beam width
- Acquisition slice thickness
- \(x\)-, \(y\)-, and \(z\)-planes
- Scan field of view (SFOV)
Methods of Data Acquisition
- Sequential or step-and-shoot acquisition
- Helical acquisition
- Volumetric acquisition
- Shuttle, continuous, and cine acquisition
- Dual-energy and dual-source CT
Image Reconstruction
- Filtered back projection
- Iterative reconstruction
- Prospective and retrospective reconstruction
- Raw data and image data
- Reconstruction algorithms
- Reconstruction slice thickness and interval
- Interpolation
Postprocessing
- Multiplanar reformation (MPR)
- 3D rendering
- Quantitative analysis, including distance, diameter, and calcium scoring
Image Evaluation and Archiving
Image Display
- Pixels and voxels
- Matrix
- Magnification
- Display field of view (DFOV)
- Window level and window width
- Cine loop and cine matrix
- Distance measurements and regions of interest (ROI)
Image Quality
- Spatial, contrast, and temporal resolution
- Noise and uniformity
- Quality assurance and quality control testing
- Accreditation
- CT numbers and Hounsfield units
- Linearity
- X-ray tube warm-up procedures
Artifact Recognition and Reduction
- Beam hardening and cupping
- Partial volume averaging
- Motion artifacts
- Metal artifacts
- Edge-gradient artifacts
- Out-of-field patient positioning
- Equipment artifacts, including rings, streaks, tube arcing, and cone beam artifacts
Informatics
- HIS, RIS, EMR, and EHR information systems
- Hard-copy and electronic image storage
- PACS/MIMPS
- DICOM
- Network security and confidentiality
- Teleradiology
- Downtime procedures
4. Procedures (71 scored questions)
The questions in this category assess your knowledge and skills related to CT studies of the head, spine, musculoskeletal system, neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
Head, Spine, and Musculoskeletal
Head
- Brain and cranium
- Brain perfusion
- Temporal bones and internal auditory canals (IACs)
- Orbits
- Sinuses
- Maxillofacial bones
- Dedicated mandible studies
- Temporomandibular joints (TMJs)
Spine
- Cervical spine
- Thoracic spine
- Lumbosacral spine
- Post-myelogram studies
Musculoskeletal
- Upper extremity
- Lower extremity
- Post-arthrogram studies
- Shoulder
- Bony pelvis
- Hip
Neck and Chest
Neck
- Larynx and airway
- Soft-tissue neck
Chest
- Cardiac CT, including coronary artery angiography and calcium scoring
- Prospective and retrospective cardiac gating
- TAVR imaging
- Mediastinum
- Lungs, including HRCT, interstitial lung disease, and lung nodule studies
- Airway
- Chest wall
- Low-dose lung screening
- Esophagram
Abdomen and Pelvis
Abdomen
- Spleen
- Multiphase liver studies
- Multiphase pancreas studies
- Multiphase adrenal studies
- Multiphase kidney studies
- Urogram/IVU
- Renal stone studies
- GI tract studies, including enterography and appendicitis
Pelvis
- Dedicated-delay bladder studies
- Retrograde cystogram
- Colorectal studies using rectal contrast
- CT colonography
- Reproductive organs
Questions about these studies may focus on any of the following:
- Cross-sectional anatomy
- Pathological considerations and recognition
- Anatomical landmarks
- Vasculature
- Imaging planes
- Protocol considerations
- Patient considerations, including infants, young children, geriatric patients, and bariatric patients
- Postprocessing presentations
- Contrast indications, scan or preparation delays, and effects on images
- Vascular procedures such as CTA and CTV
- Biopsy, drainage, and aspiration
- Trauma
- Surgical planning
Check Out Mometrix's Computed Tomography Study Guide
Get practice questions, video tutorials, and detailed study lessons.
Top 3 Most Challenging CT Questions
Now that you know more about the exam, try your hand at some targeted practice!
Over the last year, we’ve compiled the data from about 1,500 test-takers who tried their hand at the practice test at the top of this page. According to the data, around 75% of people answered these three questions incorrectly.
Answer each question and read through the answer explanation, whether you got the answer right or wrong. This will help you ensure you’ve got the topic mastered.
Whether you struggled with these questions or aced them on your first try, be sure to take the full practice test to get a better idea of how prepared you really are!
1. What imaging modality is considered the “gold standard” for imaging cerebrovascular disorders?
2. What is the common artifact that appears as blurriness or incorrect CT numbers, causing pathology to be missed or misdiagnosed, and which fails to appear on all views?
3. All states have laws that require patients to sign consent forms in which of the following situations?
Registration
Once you have completed the CT eligibility requirements, you can apply for the exam through your ARRT online account. The application fee is $225. If you’re using NMTCB as a supporting category, the application fee is currently $450.
Once your application is approved, you will have 365 days to schedule and complete the exam. Follow the instructions on your Candidate Status Report to schedule your appointment at a Pearson test center.
Online Computed Tomography Test Prep Course
If you want to be fully prepared, Mometrix offers an online CT prep course designed to give you everything you need to succeed!
Here’s what you’ll find in the CT course:
- 40+ Review Lessons Covering Every Topic
- Over 300 CT Practice Questions
- 450+ Digital Flashcards
- Money-back Guarantee
- Mobile Access
Everyone learns differently, so we’ve tailored the CT online prep course to ensure every learner has what they need to prepare for the CT test.
Click below to check it out!
Test Day
On the day of your exam, you should arrive at the testing center 30 minutes early to allow time for the check-in process. If you arrive late, you will not be able to take the exam and your exam fee will not be refunded. Note that you are the only person that should enter the testing center; no friends or family members are allowed.
Once you arrive, you will be asked to show a form of valid photo ID, sign a digital signature pad, and scan your palm veins for authentication purposes. You will then be asked to leave all personal items in a locker outside the testing room.
Before the exam begins, you will be asked to read and sign the ARRT Rules Agreement and sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Once these are signed, your exam will begin.
You will be permitted to take authorized breaks during the exam, but the timer will not be stopped while you are away. If you take longer than 10 minutes, an incident report will be filed and investigated.
Exam Scoring
All ARRT exam scores land within a scoring scale ranging from 1 to 99. You pass the exam if you obtain a scaled score of 75 and above.
At the end of your exam, you’ll receive a preliminary score that only you can access online. Within about 10 business days, ARRT will email you when your official exam results are available in your online account. Your score report will include your total scaled score and a breakdown of your performance in each content area.
Check Out Mometrix's Computed Tomography Flashcards
Get complex subjects broken down into easily understandable concepts.
FAQs
Q
How many questions are on the Computed Tomography exam?
A
There are 195 multiple-choice questions on the exam.
Q
How long is the Computed Tomography exam?
A
The time limit for this exam is 195 minutes.
Q
What is the passing score for the Computed Tomography exam?
A
To pass the exam, you must achieve a scaled score of 75.
Q
How much is the Computed Tomography exam?
A
The application fee for this exam is $225. The fee is $450 if you’re using NMTCB as a supporting category.
ARRT is a registered trademark of The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, which is not affiliated with Mometrix Test Preparation and does not endorse this page.
