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ARRT CT study guide

ARRT CT, administered by ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists), is mapped here as 4 topic areas; the heaviest are D4 — Procedures (43%), D3 — Image Production (31.5%) and D1 — Patient Care (12.7%).

About this course: Practice CT patient care, safety, image production and procedures, including dose vocabulary, contrast phases and artifacts. This is a focused 46-question practice bank, not a full-length registry simulation.

ARRT CT at a glance

Questions
165
Time allowed
195 minutes test time
Passing standard
SCALED score of 75 on a 1–99 scale, NOT percent-correct (ARRT annual report approximate % correct to pass for CT ≈ 66%)
Format
165 scored four-option multiple-choice questions + 30 unscored pilot = 195 total
Standard / edition
BUILD TARGET = the 2026 spec (board approved July 2025, IMPLEMENTATION Sept 1, 2026)
Administered by
ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists)

Source: BUILD TARGET = the 2026 spec (board approved July 2025, IMPLEMENTATION Sept 1, 2026), ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists). Confirm current details with the exam owner before you book.

Topic areas and weights

Topic areaWeightConceptsGuide
D1 — Patient Care12.7%6Section below
D2 — Safety12.7%7Section below
D3 — Image Production31.5%13Section below
D4 — Procedures43%19Section below

Study plan in this course

  1. Patient Care: Contrast, Reactions & Monitoring — 6 cards · free
  2. Dose Levers, Metrics & Math — 3 cards · free
  3. Radiation Physics & Protection — 4 cards · full course
  4. CT Hardware & Acquisition — 4 cards · full course
  5. Reconstruction & Postprocessing — 4 cards · full course
  6. Image Quality, HU & Artifacts — 6 cards · full course
  7. Head, Spine & Musculoskeletal — 6 cards · full course
  8. Neck & Chest — 4 cards · full course
  9. Abdomen: Phases & Stone Protocol — 5 cards · full course
  10. Pelvis, Vascular & Contrast Timing — 4 cards · full course

D1 — Patient Care

D1 — Patient Care carries 12.7% of the ARRT CT blueprint used in this course, the third-largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 6 concepts. The course teaches it in 1 study unit: Patient Care: Contrast, Reactions & Monitoring.

What D1 — Patient Care covers

  • Patient assessment gates the scan
  • Contrast media types
  • Contrast contraindications and special populations — ACR Manual on Contrast Media, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • Injection and scanning technique
  • Contrast reactions — ACR Manual on Contrast Media, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • Monitoring and infection control

Common mistakes in D1 — Patient Care

  • 'barium is always fine' — use water-soluble if perforation/aspiration risk
  • 'the tech treats the reaction' — recognize, summon, support; administration per scope

Key terms for D1 — Patient Care

CIN / CI-AKI · bolus tracking

How D1 — Patient Care connects to other areas

Official references for D1 — Patient Care

  • ACR Manual on Contrast Media, WebSearch-verified: 2026-07-10

In the app this area comes with 6 memory cards and 6 module-quiz questions and is part of the free starting modules.

D2 — Safety

D2 — Safety carries 12.7% of the ARRT CT blueprint used in this course, the 4th-largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 7 concepts. The course teaches it in 2 study units: Dose Levers, Metrics & Math and Radiation Physics & Protection.

What D2 — Safety covers

  • Dose-reduction levers — FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • Dose metrics — FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • Dose math — FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • X-ray production and interactions — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Patient dose considerations — FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • Personnel protection — FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10
  • Beam basics — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'

Common mistakes in D2 — Safety

  • 'CTDIvol is the patient's dose' — it is a phantom-based protocol index, not patient-specific
  • 'higher pitch = higher dose' — for a fixed mAs, higher pitch generally lowers dose

Key terms for D2 — Safety

CTDIvol · DLP · effective dose

How D2 — Safety connects to other areas

Official references for D2 — Safety

  • Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified: 2026-07-10

In the app this area comes with 7 memory cards and 7 module-quiz questions and is part of the free starting modules.

D3 — Image Production

D3 — Image Production carries 31.5% of the ARRT CT blueprint used in this course, the second-largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 13 concepts. The course teaches it in 3 study units: CT Hardware & Acquisition, Reconstruction & Postprocessing and Image Quality, HU & Artifacts.

What D3 — Image Production covers

  • CT unit anatomy
  • Acquisition parameters
  • Data-acquisition methods — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • SFOV vs DFOV firewall — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Reconstruction — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Re-reconstruction from raw data — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Postprocessing
  • Display and windowing — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Hounsfield units — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Image quality — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Artifacts — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Informatics
  • QC program — ACR Manual on Contrast Media, WebSearch-verified 2026-07-10

Common mistakes in D3 — Image Production

  • 'you can only reconstruct once' — raw projection data allows new slice thickness/kernel with no added dose
  • 'narrow window shows more anatomy' — narrow WW = high contrast, FEWER shades

Key terms for D3 — Image Production

pitch · HU (Hounsfield unit) · SFOV vs DFOV

How D3 — Image Production connects to other areas

Official references for D3 — Image Production

  • Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • FDA / AAPM CT dose framework, WebSearch-verified: 2026-07-10
  • ACR Manual on Contrast Media, WebSearch-verified: 2026-07-10

In the app this area comes with 14 memory cards and 14 module-quiz questions in the full course.

D4 — Procedures

D4 — Procedures carries 43% of the ARRT CT blueprint used in this course, the largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 19 concepts. The course teaches it in 4 study units: Head, Spine & Musculoskeletal, Neck & Chest, Abdomen: Phases & Stone Protocol and Pelvis, Vascular & Contrast Timing.

What D4 — Procedures covers

  • Brain is the acute-stroke and trauma workhorse — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Acute-stroke advanced imaging — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Temporal bones / IAC — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Sinuses, maxillofacial, orbits, mandible, and TMJ — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Spine
  • Musculoskeletal — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Soft-tissue neck — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Cardiac — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Chest — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Vascular chest — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Multiphase liver — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Pancreas/adrenals/kidneys — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Renal stone — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • CT urogram / IVU — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • GI protocols
  • Pelvis — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Vascular abdomen/pelvis — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Contrast-phase timing spine — Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'
  • Interventional, trauma, and patient factors

Common mistakes in D4 — Procedures

  • 'contrast helps find kidney stones' — noncontrast; contrast obscures/mimics stones
  • 'brain stroke gets contrast first' — noncontrast first to exclude hemorrhage

Key terms for D4 — Procedures

CTPA · prospective gating

How D4 — Procedures connects to other areas

Official references for D4 — Procedures

  • Seeram 'Computed Tomography' + Romans 'CT for Technologists'

In the app this area comes with 19 memory cards and 19 module-quiz questions in the full course.

Official references

Start the free ARRT CT modules → · Pricing · FAQ