NUCLEAR MEDICINE

TECHNOLOGY
CERTIFICATION BOARD

SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS

Group I, Task 7, Comprehension:

Notify the appropriate authority of medical event when appropriate.
1. According to NRC criteria, which of the following is a misadministration?
a. Infiltration of an attempted intravenous injection
b. Administration of 10 mCi I-131 instead of the prescribed 9 mCi
c. Administration of 20 mCi Tc-99m pertechnetate instead of the prescribed 10 mCi
d. Administration of 15 mCi I-131 sodium iodide intravenously instead of orally as prescribed.
e. Administration of 5 mCi Tc-99m sulfur colloid to the wrong patient.
Group IV, Task 45, Application:
Prepare radiopharmaceutical kits, perform quality control and evaluate results.
2. Chromatography testing of technetium radiopharmaceuticals is done to check for:
a. Aluminum Contamination
b. Molybdenum breakthrough
c. Radionuclidic purity
d. Radiochemical purity
e. Chemical purity
Group III, Task 36, Application:
Prepare proper instrument, computer and auxiliary equipment and acquire imaging procedures as indicated by
protocol.
3. The use of elliptical and/or body contour orbits in SPECT imaging should result in improved:
a. Temporal resolution
b. Spatial resolution
c. Reconstruction times
d. Acquisition times
e. Patient comfort
Group II, Task 19, Application:
Perform and evaluate detector linearity and spatial resolution on a scintillation camera
4. Which of the following variables does not affect spatial resolution in nuclear medicine imaging systems:
a. Physical design of the collimator
b. Material of which the collimator is constructed
c. Energy of the gamma rays being counted
d. Computer matrix pixel size
e. Byte vs. word acquisition mode

Group II, Task 16, Comprehension:

Perform and evaluate quality control on a well counter or probe.
5. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) is often used as a measure of:
a. Uniformity
b. Sensitivity
c. Intensity
d. Resolution
e. Dead time
Group II, Task 24, Analysis:
Perform and evaluate quality control procedures for SPECT camera.
6. Uncorrected flood field nonuniformities cause ____________ artifacts in tomographic reconstruction.
a. Irregular
b. Dropout
c. Circular
d. Undulating
e. Linear
Group II, Task 20, Application:
Assess performance of image recording equipment.
7. How many 16-bit words of memory are required for a 64 x 64 byte mode image?
a. 2,048
b. 4,096
c. 16,384
d. 32,768
e. 65,535
Group III, Task 37, Comprehension:
Evaluate image appearance and perform any additional views as required.
8. Areas of prolonged retention of Xe-133 in the lungs are associated with:
a. Reduced trapping in the lung
b. Obstructive lung disease
c. Pulmonary emboli
d. Bacterial pneumonia
e. Septal penetration
Group III, Task 36, Analysis:
Prepare proper instrument, computer and auxiliary equipment and acquire imaging procedures as indicated by
protocol.
9. A patient is to undergo a multiple-gated cardiac blood-pool study with the heart cycle divided in 20 frames. The
patient is in normal sinus rhythm and has a heart rate of 68 bpm. The computer should lock in at what time per
frame for this study?
a. 44 milliseconds
b. 56 milliseconds
c. 0.29 seconds
d. 1.5 seconds
e. 3.4 seconds
Group III, Task 37, Comprehension:
Evaluate image appearance and perform any additional views as required.
10. Which of the following myocardial perfusion patterns suggest that the patient has myocardial ischemia:
a. Abnormal resting Tc-MIBI, Abnormal Stress Tc-MIBI
b. Abnormal resting Tc-MIBI, Normal Stress Tl-201

c. Normal resting Tc-MIBI, Normal Stress Tl-201

d. Abnormal resting Tl-201, Abnormal Stress Tc-MIBI
e. Normal resting Tl-201, Abnormal Stress Tl-201
Group III, Task 39, Comprehension:
Prepare and perform cardiac monitoring and/or stress testing.
11. Ventricular depolarization occurs just before the ventricles contract, expelling blood forward into the pulmonary
artery and aorta. This action is represented on the EKG strip by:
a. QA complex
b. ST complex
c. QRS complex
d. RS complex
e. PQR complex
Group I, Task 2, Comprehension:
Prepare and package radioactive materials for transportation.
12. At what distance is the exposure rate (in mR/hr) indicated by a packages transport index measured?
a. At the surface
b. At 1 meter from the surface
c. At 3 meters from the surface
d. At 6 meters from the surface
e. Transport index doesnt have anything to do with exposure, all packages, radioactive or not, have a T.I.
Group I, Task 1, Comprehension:
Post appropriate signs in designated areas to comply with NRC regulations.
13. According to NRC, an unrestricted area is one in which a person would receive a radiation dose of less than:
a. 2 mrem/hr
b. 5 mrem/hr
c. 10 mrem/hr
d. 20 mrem/hr
e. 50 mrem/hr
Group I, Task 5, Analysis:
Take appropriate measures to reduce radiation exposure.
14. The dose rate during preparation of a radiopharmaceutical is 1.66 mrem/hr. With this rate reduced by 2 HVLs,
how many hours would it take a worker to accumulate 10 mrems?
a. 3
b. 6
c. 12
d. 24
e. 48
Group III, Task 37, Analysis:
Evaluate image appearance and perform any additional views as required.
15. In a euthyroid patient, which of the following describes the result of Cytomel (T3) administration for 8 days prior
to a radioactive iodine thyroid uptake?
a. Elevated protein bound iodine
b. Suppressed "cold" nodules
c. Increased thyroid uptake
d. Decreased thyroid uptake
e. No variation in uptake
Group III, Task 41, Application:

Obtain samples and/or data for non-imaging studies.

16. A well counter is set to collect 10,000 counts or to stop after 5 minutes. The counter stops at 2 minutes. What is
the count rate (in cpm)?
a. 2,000
b. 5,000
c. 10,000
d. 20,000
e. 200,000
Group II, Task 16, Comprehension:
Perform and evaluate quality control on a well counter or probe.
17. As the sample volume is increased, well counter counting efficiencies are:
a. Reduced
b. Improved
c. Unchanged
d. Increased to a point, then reduced.
e. Unpredictable
Group IV, Task 48, Comprehension:
Label blood components with a radiopharmaceutical according to protocol.
18. The action of the ACD solution in labeling RBCs for a red cell mass determination is as a(n):
a. Cell preservative
b. pH stabilizer
c. A reducing agent
d. Oxidizing agent
e. Anticoagulant
Group IV, Task 46, Application:
Prepare and dispense diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals.
19. If a vial containing Tl-201 is found to have an activity of 10.0 mCi at 8 a.m. on Monday, how much activity
would remain at 10 a.m. on Friday provided no dose was drawn from this vial (in mCi)?
a. 86.5
b. 4.03
c. 3.94
d. 3.10
e. 2.55
Group I, Task 1, Comprehension:
Post appropriate signs in designated areas to comply with NRC regulations.
20. High Radiation Area signs are to be posted in areas where exposures greater than ____________ mrem/hr are
measured at 30 cm from the source or from any surface through which the radiation penetrates:
a. 5
b. 10
c. 50
d. 100
e. 500
Group III, Task 36, Application:
Prepare proper instrument, computer and auxiliary equipment and acquire imaging procedures as indicated by
protocol.
21. When a zoom is used during a 64 x 64 byte mode computer acquisition:
a. The computer automatically switches to a larger matrix size
b. The field of view is increased

c. A spatial filter must be used to smooth away the adverse affects of this technique
d. Spatial resolution is increased
e. More computer memory is needed

Group II, Task 23, Comprehension:

Perform and evaluate dose calibrator consistency tests.
22. Which of the following quality control tests should be performed on a dose calibrator after a power outage?
a. Nothing needs to be checked if QC was performed in the last 24 hours
b. Constancy
c. Linearity
d. Geometry
e. Sensitivity
Group III, Task 38, Analysis:
Process and evaluate computer generated data.
23. When processing a gated blood pool study, incorrectly placing the background region over part of the aorta will
have what effect on the resulting EF calculation?
a. The result will be higher than patients true EF
b. The result will be lower than patients true EF
c. It will have no effect; the background in the region of the aorta is insignificant
d. It will have no effect: the background data is only used to smooth the resulting volume curve
e. It depends; the effect is different depending on whether the patients heart function is abnormal or normal to
begin with
Group IV, Task 48, Analysis:
Label blood components with a radiopharmaceutical according to protocol.
24. Once blood has been drawn in a syringe containing an anticoagulant, the next step to be done when labeling
leukocytes with In-111 oxine is to:
a. Centrifuge the sample at 200 g. for 5 minutes
b. Centrifuge the sample at 2000 g. for 5 minutes
c. Sediment the sample for 50 to 60 minutes
d. Add the In-111 oxine
e. Add ascorbic acid
Group IV, Task 43, Comprehension:
Elute radionuclide generator; perform and evaluate quality control tests.
25. The limit for Mo-99 contamination in a solution of Tc-99m is no more than:
a. 1 uCi Mo-99 per mCi Tc-99m
b. 0.15 uCi Mo-99 per mCi Tc-99m
c. 5 uCi Mo-99 per mCi Tc-99m
d. 0.15 uCi Mo-99 per ml Tc-99m solution
e. 5 uCi Mo-99 per ml Tc-99m solution
Group III, Task 37, Comprehension:
Evaluate image appearance and perform any additional views as required.
26. Activity seen in the liver and spleen during a perfusion lung scan would most likely be due to:
a. Normal physiology and biodistribution
b. Left-to-right cardiac shunt
c. Dissociation and oxidation to free pertechnetate
d. COPD
e. MAA particles smaller than 5 microns

Group II, Task 22, Comprehension:

Perform and evaluate linearity of the dose calibrator.
27. According to national standards, how often should the activity linearity of a dose calibrator be measured?
a. Each day of use
b. Weekly
c. Monthly
d. Quarterly
e. Annually

Group III, Task 34, Analysis:

Prepare patient for procedure.
28. Which of the following situations would be considered an absolute contraindication for performing adenosine
pharmacological stress testing?
a. Patient drank a couple cups of caffeinated coffee 2 hours prior
b. Patient ate a solid meal 2 hours prior
c. Patient had a colonoscopy 1 week prior
d. Patient had a known myocardial infarction 6 months previously
e. SPECT imaging is not available at this site

Group IV, Task 44, Analysis:

Review the daily work schedule to plan radiopharmaceutical needs.
29. The following request should be questioned because:
Name: John Doe
Number: 123456
Age: 40
Clinical History: Suspected polycythemia vera
Study Requested: RBC mass determination
Nuclear Medicine Physician orders:
Radiopharmaceutical: I-125 RISA
Dose: 30 uCi
Route of administration: IV
a. The radiopharmaceutical prescribed is incorrect
b. The dose is too low
c. The study requested is inappropriate
d. The route of administration is incorrect
e. Everything is correct for this procedure

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