ARRT CT · NMTCB(CT) · FREE STUDY PLAN
An 8-week CT registry study plan
A week-by-week schedule built around how the ARRT CT exam is actually weighted. Roughly 8–10 hours a week, with notes at the end for 4 or 12 weeks and for the NMTCB(CT) exam.
Updated October 2026
Study to the weighting, not to the chapter order
The ARRT CT exam has 165 scored questions, and they are not evenly spread. Plan your hours the same way:
| ARRT CT category | Scored questions | Share | Hours in an 80-hour plan |
|---|
| Procedures | 71 | 43% | ~35 |
| Image production | 52 | 32% | ~25 |
| Patient care | 21 | 13% | ~10 |
| Safety | 21 | 13% | ~10 |
Procedures alone outweigh patient care and safety combined, 71 questions to 42. Most candidates feel least sure about physics, so they over-invest there; the numbers say procedures and image production are where the exam is won.
Source: ARRT Examination Content Specifications for Computed Tomography, board approved July 2025, in force since 1 September 2026, at arrt.org.
Before week 1: take a diagnostic
Sit 50–60 mixed questions under time pressure — about a minute each, the real exam pace — and score them by category. Keep the result: it is your baseline, and it usually shows that the area you feel worst about is not the one costing you the most points.
Start with 25 free CT registry questions with full explanations →
Weeks 1–2 — Image formation and dose
Starting here is deliberate. Protocol questions in the procedures category assume you understand what kVp, pitch, beam width and reconstruction choices do, so learning them first makes weeks 3–5 faster.
- CT unit components: tube, generator, detectors and detector configuration, data acquisition system, slip rings
- Parameters: kVp, mAs, pitch, beam width, acquisition slice thickness, scan field of view, and the x, y and z planes
- Acquisition: sequential, helical, volumetric, cine and dual energy
- Reconstruction: filtered backprojection versus iterative, algorithms, reconstruction slice thickness and interval, raw versus image data
- Post-processing: MPR, MIP, shaded surface and volume rendering, calcium scoring
- Dose: CTDIvol (mGy), DLP (mGy·cm) and effective dose (mSv), and which parameter changes push each up or down
Weeks 3–5 — Procedures by region (the largest block)
Three weeks on one category looks lopsided until you remember it is 43% of the exam. For every study, cover cross-sectional anatomy and landmarks, indications and pathology, protocol and planes, contrast and scan delay, and post-processing.
- Week 3 — Head, spine and musculoskeletal (25 questions). Brain and brain perfusion, temporal bones and IACs, orbits, sinuses, facial bones, mandible and TMJs; cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spine and post-myelogram; extremities, shoulder, pelvis, hip and post-arthrogram.
- Week 4 — Neck and chest (22 questions). Larynx and soft-tissue neck; coronary CTA, calcium scoring, prospective versus retrospective gating and TAVR planning; mediastinum, HRCT and nodules, airway, chest wall, low-dose lung screening and esophagram.
- Week 5 — Abdomen and pelvis (24 questions). Multiphase liver, pancreas, adrenals and kidneys and why each phase is timed as it is; urogram, renal stone, enterography and appendicitis; delayed bladder, cystogram, rectal contrast, CT colonography and pelvic organs.
Work case-style questions alongside: a case forces you to connect anatomy, protocol and pathology, which is closer to what the harder items ask.
Week 6 — Image evaluation, artifacts and informatics
- Display: pixel, voxel, matrix, display field of view, window width and level
- Image quality: spatial, contrast and temporal resolution, noise and uniformity, CT numbers and linearity, QA tests and accreditation
- Artifacts: beam hardening and cupping, partial volume, motion, metal, edge gradient, out-of-field, rings, streaks, tube arcing and cone beam — the cause and the fix for each
- Informatics: HIS, RIS and EHR, PACS, DICOM, security, teleradiology and downtime procedures
Week 7 — Patient care and safety
Together these are 42 of the 165 scored questions. They feel like common sense until a question asks for the specific correct action.
- Screening, history and labs: eGFR and creatinine, plus coagulation, hCG and others
- Contrast media types, contraindications, pregnancy, lactation and dialysis considerations
- Venipuncture, power injectors, single and multiphase injection, timing bolus versus bolus tracking
- Contrast reactions: recognising mild, moderate and severe reactions and their treatment, and extravasation
- Radiation protection: dose reduction techniques, pediatric and pregnant patients, dose notifications and alerts
Week 8 — Mock exams and targeted repair
- Sit at least two full-length timed mock exams, ideally at the time of day your real exam is booked
- Score by category and compare with your week-1 diagnostic
- Spend the remaining time only on the two weakest categories, weighted by their question counts
- Re-read the explanation for every question you got right by guessing — a lucky guess is an unflagged gap
Adapting the plan
| Situation | How to adjust |
|---|
| 4 weeks | Halve each block, keep the proportions, and do not cut the mock exam week. Work only from your diagnostic results. |
| 12 weeks | Add a week to procedures and a week to image production, and insert a mid-point mock exam after week 6. |
| NMTCB(CT) instead of ARRT | Reweight to the NMTCB outline: procedures 25%, radiation safety 16%, instrumentation 14%, contrast and medications 14%, image quality and QA 13%, data acquisition and post-processing 12%, patient management 6%. It is 200 questions in 3 hours 30 minutes. |
| Retaking the exam | Ignore this order. Rank categories from your score report and study strictly in that order. |
| Working full time | Keep the sequence and stretch it to 12 weeks rather than compressing the hours. |
Common questions
- How long should I study for the CT registry?
- Eight weeks at 8–10 hours a week suits most candidates. Allow 12 weeks if you are working full time or have been away from CT coursework for a while.
- What is the most important category on the ARRT CT exam?
- Procedures, at 71 of the 165 scored questions. Image production is next at 52.
- How many questions are on the ARRT CT exam?
- 195: 165 scored and 30 unscored pilot questions, with 195 minutes of test time.
- What score do I need to pass the ARRT CT exam?
- A scaled score of 75, on ARRT’s scale of 1 to 99.
- Do I need to memorize dose numbers?
- You need to know what CTDIvol, DLP and effective dose measure, their units, and how scan parameters change them. Understanding the relationships matters more than memorizing typical values.
Work the plan with a real question bank
500 CT registry questions for the ARRT CT and NMTCB(CT) exams, each with a worked explanation, plus 34 CT case studies and timed mock exams of 50, 100 or 200 questions. 25 questions are free, no card and no account.
See the CT question bank
Related
Free CT registry practice questions with answers →
CT registry practice test and mock exams →
How to become a CNMT →
NMTCB study plan →