VS exam guide
About the Vascular Sonography (VS) exam
The ARRT Vascular Sonography examination assesses patient care, ultrasound and hemodynamic image production, and noninvasive arterial, venous, cerebrovascular, abdominal, and physiologic procedures. Preparation should connect waveform physics, anatomy, disease mechanisms, protocol performance, criteria, artifacts, and clinical urgency.
MedPorium is an independent education platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). Exam details can change; confirm them with the official source before applying.
VS exam format at a glance
- Questions
- 225
- 175 scored; 50 unscored
- Time
- 225 minutes of test time within a 245-minute appointment
- Delivery
- Computer-based testing at Pearson VUE test centers
Knowledge to review for the VS exam
These foundations support the practical tasks in the official examination matrix.
Patient and vascular foundations
- History, symptoms, risk, indication, consent, positioning, infection control, ergonomics, emergencies, and reporting
- Arterial and venous anatomy, physiology, pressure, resistance, flow, collateralization, thrombosis, stenosis, aneurysm, insufficiency, and intervention
Ultrasound and hemodynamics
- Sound physics, transducers, resolution, attenuation, Doppler equation, aliasing, spectral analysis, color, power, artifacts, and bioeffects
- Velocity, waveform morphology, indices, pressure measurements, plethysmography, equipment optimization, quality assurance, and criteria validation
Vascular examinations
- Carotid, transcranial, peripheral arterial, venous thrombosis, venous insufficiency, abdominal aorta, renal, mesenteric, portal, iliocaval, and transplant studies
- ABI, segmental pressures, PVR, exercise, mapping, dialysis access, grafts, stents, endografts, physiologic testing, interventions, and complications
VS examination matrix
The percentages below are the approximate exam-score weights published by The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). Use them to allocate study time, then adjust for your own weak areas.
11.4%
Patient Care
Assess and prepare patients, obtain focused vascular history, provide safe care, and communicate findings.
- Verify identity, indication, symptoms, onset, risk factors, prior procedures, medicines, and relevant history
- Position safely and apply infection control, ergonomic, emergency, and bioeffect principles
- Document complete examinations and promptly communicate critical or unexpected findings
40%
Image Production
Apply ultrasound physics, Doppler, hemodynamics, physiologic testing, optimization, artifacts, and quality assurance.
- Optimize transducer, frequency, focus, gain, scale, baseline, wall filter, steering, angle, sample volume, and color box
- Interpret flow direction, velocity, resistance, phasicity, pulsatility, turbulence, pressure, PVR, and exercise response
- Recognize artifacts and technical errors and maintain reproducible equipment and laboratory quality
48.6%
Procedures
The largest area applies protocols, anatomy, disease, diagnostic criteria, intervention follow-up, and special testing across vascular beds.
- Perform extracranial, intracranial, peripheral arterial, venous, abdominal, visceral, transplant, and dialysis-access examinations
- Apply velocity, ratio, waveform, compression, reflux, pressure, and morphology criteria
- Evaluate grafts, stents, endografts, fistulas, interventions, complications, variants, and collateral pathways
How to use this VS diagnostic
The diagnostic samples all three current areas. For each miss, identify the vascular bed and whether the gap involved patient care, ultrasound physics, Doppler optimization, hemodynamics, protocol, diagnostic criteria, disease, intervention follow-up, artifact, or critical-result communication.
High-yield VS study priorities
Priority 1
Pair criteria with technique
A velocity threshold is only meaningful when angle, sample location, waveform, gain, scale, and anatomy are correct.
Priority 2
Learn disease as flow change
Predict proximal, at-lesion, and distal waveform effects of stenosis, occlusion, steal, fistula, aneurysm, thrombosis, reflux, and collateralization.
Priority 3
Build protocol completeness
For each vascular bed, know preparation, position, segments, views, measurements, maneuvers, criteria, documentation, and critical findings.
Priority 4
Compare intervention surveillance
Review expected and abnormal findings after bypass, stent, endograft, ablation, fistula creation, angioplasty, and thrombectomy.
VS exam FAQ
How many questions are on the ARRT Vascular Sonography examination?
The current examination format contains 225 questions: 175 scored questions and 50 unscored pilot questions. Pilot questions are mixed into the examination and are not identified.
How long is the Vascular Sonography examination?
225 minutes of test time within a 245-minute appointment. ARRT's appointment time also includes the tutorial, nondisclosure agreement, and survey where applicable.
How is the content outline weighted?
The currently effective specification is approximately Patient Care 11.4%, Image Production 40%, Procedures 48.6%. These percentages are calculated from ARRT's scored-item counts, so rounding may prevent the displayed values from totaling exactly 100%.
What should I prioritize for Vascular Sonography?
Procedures is the largest scored content area at approximately 48.6%. Give it the largest share of practice, but continue sampling every area because the examination blueprint is broad.
What score is required to pass an ARRT examination?
ARRT reports examination results on a scaled score from 1 to 99, and a scaled score of 75 is required to pass. A 75 scaled score is not the same as answering 75% of questions correctly.
Does this diagnostic predict whether I will pass?
No. A 15-question diagnostic is a low-confidence baseline, not a validated pass prediction. Review every rationale and use larger mixed and content-specific sets to build a more stable readiness estimate.
Is MedPorium affiliated with ARRT?
No. MedPorium is an independent education platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.
Review and official source
Clinical reviewer: K. H. Henkle
Exam format and matrix information were checked against the ARRT Vascular Sonography credential page and examination content specifications. Source reviewed October 15, 2026.
Ready to check your VS knowledge?
Take the free 15-question practice test to identify strengths and topics that need more review.