This ARRT CT cheat sheet distills the post-primary Computed Tomography exam into a printable rundown of the facts examiners test most, mapped to ARRT's four content categories. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free CT toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
ARRT CT exam at a glance
- Questions: 195 total — 165 scored + 30 unscored pilot
- Time: 3 hours 15 minutes (195 minutes)
- Passing score: Scaled score of 75 (scale 1–99) — not a percentage
- Cost & pathway: Post-primary via Pearson VUE; requires an existing ARRT (or NMTCB) credential — verify current fees on arrt.org
What’s on the ARRT CT cheat sheet
- Procedures (71 scored) — cross-sectional anatomy and scan protocols for head/spine/musculoskeletal, neck/chest, and abdomen/pelvis — the largest category.
- Image Production (50 scored; 52 from Sept 1, 2026) — image formation (CT unit, pitch, reconstruction) plus evaluation — Hounsfield units, windowing, resolution, noise, and artifacts.
- Patient Care (22 scored; 21 from Sept 1, 2026) — iodinated contrast screening and injection, reaction grading and management, consent, time-out, and infection control.
- Safety (22 scored; 21 from Sept 1, 2026) — radiation physics, CT dose metrics CTDIvol and DLP, dose-reduction levers, and protecting patients and staff (ALARA).
How to use it in your final week
- Lock in the Hounsfield anchors and windowing first — water = 0 HU, air ≈ −1000 HU, dense bone ≈ +1000 HU; a wide window (lung, bone) shows low contrast, a narrow window (brain) shows high contrast.
- Front-load Procedures and Image Production — together they are about three-quarters of the 165 scored questions, so master cross-sectional anatomy and the dose chain (CTDIvol → DLP → effective dose) from the sheet before anything else.
- Do a fast contrast-safety pass: in every reaction the first move is stop the injection, keep IV access, assess ABCs, call for help — and screen eGFR, prior reaction, metformin, allergy, and pregnancy before contrast.
- Read the sheet the morning of the exam, then pair each review pass with a short timed practice set (195 questions in 195 minutes ≈ one minute each) so your pacing feels routine.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your ARRT CT practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
ARRT CT cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the ARRT Computed Tomography (CT) cheat sheet downloads as a PDF with no account and no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free CT practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole review layer is free.
It compresses the highest-yield facts into a quick reference organized by the four ARRT content categories: Procedures (cross-sectional anatomy and protocols), Image Production (formation, evaluation, and dose physics), Patient Care (contrast and reactions), and Safety (dose metrics and protection). Think Hounsfield units, windowing, pitch, CTDIvol and DLP, contrast phases, and reaction management on one condensed reference.
Yes — it flags both outlines. Through August 31, 2026 the scored counts are Procedures 71, Image Production 50, Patient Care 22, and Safety 22; effective September 1, 2026 they shift to Procedures 71, Image Production 52, Patient Care 21, and Safety 21, with the 165 scored total unchanged. Always confirm the counts for your test date on arrt.org.
No — it's a cram and last-week recall aid, not a full course. You need a scaled score of 75 (scale 1–99), and reaching it takes worked practice on cross-sectional anatomy and image-production physics, so pair the sheet with the free practice test to see where you stand.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark the page so it's one tap away when you're doing final review before your Pearson VUE appointment.
References
- 1.American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. “Computed Tomography (CT) Examination Content Specifications.” arrt.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. “Postprimary Pathway: Computed Tomography (CT).” arrt.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. “Exam Scoring.” arrt.org, 2026. ↑
- 4.American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. “Updated CT Documents (Effective September 1, 2026).” arrt.org, 2026. ↑
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