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Exam Overview
The SPI is a computer-based exam taken at a Pearson VUE test center. Applications and testing are open all year. Once your application is approved, you schedule your appointment within your eligibility window.
Key Facts About the SPI Exam
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) examination |
| Certifying body | American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS), part of Inteleos |
| Questions | About 110 multiple-choice questions |
| Answer choices | Four per question, one best answer |
| Testing time | 2 hours, plus a short survey |
| Calculator | Not permitted; a whiteboard is available at the test center |
| Scoring | Scaled score from 300 to 700; 555 or higher passes |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE test centers |
| Role | Required with a specialty exam for RDMS, RDCS, RVT and RMSKS |
What the Exam Covers
Exam Design by Content Domain
| Domain | Title | Share of Exam | Approximate Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perform Ultrasound Examinations | 23% | 25 |
| 2 | Manage Ultrasound Transducers | 7% | 8 |
| 3 | Optimize Sonographic Images | 26% | 29 |
| 4 | Apply Doppler Concepts | 34% | 37 |
| 5 | Provide Clinical Safety and Quality Assurance | 10% | 11 |
Doppler alone is worth more than a third of the exam, so Doppler principles, hemodynamics, spectral Doppler and color and power Doppler deserve the largest share of your study time. Image optimization comes next at about a quarter of the exam, followed by the physics, patient care, artifacts and bioeffects of Domain 1.
The outline is task-based. Instead of asking you to recite physics for its own sake, it describes what a sonographer does: select a transducer, optimize resolution and brightness, eliminate aliasing, set the wall filter, recognize an artifact, apply ALARA, disinfect a probe and run a phantom test. Expect questions that ask what you would do and what would happen as a result.
How the Exam Is Scored
The SPI is scored pass or fail on a scale from 300 to 700, and a scaled score of 555 or higher passes. The scaled score is not a percentage, and the exam is not curved: you are measured against a fixed standard, not against other candidates. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question.
You receive your score report at the test center, and results post to your ARDMS account within about a week.
What Kinds of Questions to Expect
- Relationship questions: what happens to the PRF, frame rate, wavelength or resolution when you change depth, frequency or another setting
- Knobology questions: which control fixes a specific image or Doppler problem
- Image and display questions: identify an artifact, a waveform pattern or a color Doppler finding from an image
- Calculations done by hand: range equation, wavelength, pulse parameters, decibels, attenuation, reflection, Doppler shift, Nyquist limit, Bernoulli and continuity, resistive index, sensitivity and specificity
- Patient care, ergonomics, bioeffects and ALARA decisions
- Infection control, transducer care and quality assurance with phantoms
Requirements and Certification
- Meet one of the ARDMS prerequisites for the SPI. Prerequisites combine education (such as a sonography program or a qualifying degree) with physics coursework or clinical experience, and many students take the SPI after finishing their sonography physics course.
- Pass the SPI and a specialty exam (such as Abdomen, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Adult Echocardiography, Vascular Technology or Musculoskeletal) within five years of each other, in either order, to earn the credential.
- Maintain the credential through ARDMS continuing medical education and renewal requirements.
Retakes
If you do not pass, you may reapply, but at least 60 days must pass between attempts. Check the official ARDMS prerequisites, fee schedule and policies before you apply, because they are updated from time to time.
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