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ARRT MRI study guide

ARRT MRI, administered by ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists) - administered at Pearson VUE test centers, is mapped here as 4 topic areas; the heaviest are D3 - Image Production (53%), D4 - Procedures (28.5%) and D2 - Safety (10.5%).

About this course: Study MRI patient care, safety, image production and procedures with audio, recall cards and explained practice answers. Our review scores are practice percentages, not ARRT scaled scores.

ARRT MRI at a glance

Questions
200
Time allowed
210 minutes test time
Passing standard
SCALED score of 75 on a 1-99 scale, NOT percent-correct
Format
200 scored four-option multiple-choice questions
Administered by
ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists) - administered at Pearson VUE test centers

Confirm current details with the exam owner before you book.

Topic areas and weights

Topic areaWeightConceptsGuide
D1 - Patient Care8%3Section below
D2 - Safety10.5%7Section below
D3 - Image Production53%32Topic page
D4 - Procedures28.5%11Section below

Topic guides at a glance

D3 - Image Production

53% of the course blueprint, 32 concepts. Emphasized: Larmor equation, T1 recovery is the time for longitudinal magnetization to regrow to 6 and k-space is the raw spatial-frequency data matrix. Watch for: '75 = 75% correct' - it is a scaled score, not a percentage.

Study plan in this course

  1. At the Screening Desk — 5 cards · free
  2. Walking the Zones — 4 cards · free
  3. The Three Fields & the Quench — 4 cards · free
  4. How the Signal Is Made — 6 cards · full course
  5. Where the Signal Lives — 3 cards · full course
  6. The Artifact Board — 7 cards · full course
  7. The Contrast Console — 5 cards · full course
  8. Choosing the Sequence — 8 cards · full course
  9. From k-Space to the Archive — 3 cards · full course
  10. Building the Neuro Exam — 6 cards · full course
  11. Building the Body Exam — 6 cards · full course
  12. Building the MSK Exam — 3 cards · full course

D1 - Patient Care

D1 - Patient Care carries 8% of the ARRT MRI blueprint used in this course, the 4th-largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 3 concepts. The course teaches it in 1 study unit: At the Screening Desk.

What D1 - Patient Care covers

  • Ethics/legal spine — ARRT Examination Content Specifications
  • Pre-contrast screening — ARRT Examination Content Specifications
  • Infection control + monitoring — ARRT Examination Content Specifications

Common mistakes in D1 - Patient Care

  • 'all gadolinium is high NSF risk' - group II is minimal even at eGFR<30
  • 'the tech diagnoses the reaction' - the tech stops, assesses, summons, documents

Key terms for D1 - Patient Care

NSF · eGFR

How D1 - Patient Care connects to other areas

Official references for D1 - Patient Care

  • ARRT Examination Content Specifications
  • ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety

In the app this area comes with 5 memory cards and 16 module-quiz questions and is part of the free starting modules.

D2 - Safety

D2 - Safety carries 10.5% of the ARRT MRI blueprint used in this course, the third-largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 7 concepts. The course teaches it in 2 study units: Walking the Zones and The Three Fields & the Quench.

What D2 - Safety covers

  • The ACR four-zone model controls MR site access — ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety
  • Device labeling under ASTM F2503 — FDA Guidance
  • The static magnetic field exerts translational and rotational — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • FDA significant-risk static-field thresholds — FDA Guidance
  • The RF field deposits energy measured as SAR, causing tissue heating — FDA Guidance
  • The gradient fields switch rapidly — FDA Guidance
  • Superconducting magnets are cooled by liquid helium — ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety

Common mistakes in D2 - Safety

  • 'MR Conditional = safe' - safe ONLY under the labeled conditions
  • 'the magnet turns off' - a superconducting magnet is always on
  • 'projectile force is worst at isocenter' - it is worst where the spatial gradient is steepest, near the bore opening

Key terms for D2 - Safety

SAR · quench · gauss line

How D2 - Safety connects to other areas

Official references for D2 - Safety

  • ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety
  • FDA Guidance - Criteria for Significant Risk Investigations of MR Diagnostic Devices
  • Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • FDA Guidance

In the app this area comes with 8 memory cards and 21 module-quiz questions and is part of the free starting modules.

D4 - Procedures

D4 - Procedures carries 28.5% of the ARRT MRI blueprint used in this course, the second-largest of its 4 weighted areas. It spans 11 concepts. The course teaches it in 3 study units: Building the Neuro Exam, Building the Body Exam and Building the MSK Exam.

What D4 - Procedures covers

  • Routine brain and stroke protocol — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Brain for MS — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Pituitary — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • IACs, orbits, and cranial nerves — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Neurovascular studies — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Spine — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • MR cholangiopancreatography — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Abdomen beyond the liver — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Pelvis — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Chest and vascular thorax — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • Extremity and small-part sweep — Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check

Common mistakes in D4 - Procedures

  • 'STIR is fine after contrast on spine' - no, STIR pre-gadolinium (ip25)
  • 'orbits don't need fat-sat' - orbit/IAC protocols require fat suppression

Key terms for D4 - Procedures

MRCP · MR arthrogram

How D4 - Procedures connects to other areas

Official references for D4 - Procedures

  • Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check

In the app this area comes with 15 memory cards and 57 module-quiz questions in the full course.

Official references

  • ARRT Examination Content Specifications
  • ACR Manual on Contrast Media / ACR Manual on MR Safety
  • FDA Guidance - Criteria for Significant Risk Investigations of MR Diagnostic Devices
  • FDA Guidance
  • arrt.org application-fees
  • ARRT Annual Exam Report: 2025
  • arrt.org postprimary MRI page
  • ARRT 2026 Postprimary Eligibility Pathway Handbook
  • arrt.org exam-scoring / application-fees / MRI + postprimary pages
  • Westbrook et al. 'MRI in Practice' + mriquestions.com physics cross-check
  • armrit.org
  • sme-library seed

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