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Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician CBET

Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician CBET Practice Test: 20 Free Questions with Answers

Twenty questions in the exam's domain weights, each with its answer and the reason. The full course has 400 explained questions plus generated math items, scored tests in the real exam's format, and lessons built from what you miss.

  1. A nurse asks a technician to move an SpO2 probe from the patient's wrist to a site more distal on the same arm. Where should the probe go?

    1. The elbow
    2. A finger
    3. The shoulder
    4. The upper arm
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Distal means farther from the trunk. On an arm, the fingers are distal to the wrist; the elbow, upper arm, and shoulder are all proximal to it.

    From the lesson Body Organization, Terminology, and the Skin.

  2. At approximately what 60 Hz current level does a person lose the ability to release an energized conductor?

    1. 1 mA
    2. 1 A
    3. 100 mA
    4. 10 to 20 mA
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. The let-go threshold is about 10 to 20 mA, where forearm muscles contract involuntarily. Perception is about 1 mA, and 100 to 300 mA is the fibrillation range.

    From the lesson Electrical Safety: Shock, Leakage, Grounding, and GFCI.

  3. Under IEC 60601-1, what is the normal-condition AC patient leakage limit for a type CF applied part?

    1. 10 microamps
    2. 50 microamps
    3. 100 microamps
    4. 500 microamps
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Type CF (cardiac floating) applied parts are limited to 10 microamps in normal condition and 50 microamps under single fault, because they may connect directly to the heart. Types B and BF allow 100 and 500 microamps.

    From the lesson NFPA 99, IEC 60601-1, Limits, and Safety Testing.

  4. A 24 V supply drives 3 A through a load. What is the load resistance?

    1. 72 ohms
    2. 0.125 ohm
    3. 8 ohms
    4. 27 ohms
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Ohm's law rearranged for resistance is R = V / I, so 24 volts divided by 3 amps gives 8 ohms. Multiplying instead (72) or dividing the other way (0.125) are the common mistakes.

    From the lesson Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Power.

  5. On an ECG strip recorded at 25 mm/s, consecutive R waves are four large boxes apart. What is the heart rate?

    1. 60 bpm
    2. 75 bpm
    3. 100 bpm
    4. 150 bpm
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. At 25 mm/s each large box is 0.20 s, so heart rate = 300 divided by the number of large boxes between R waves: 300 / 4 = 75 bpm. Using small boxes, 1500 / 20 also gives 75.

    From the lesson ECG: Electrodes, Leads, Waveform, and Paper Math.

  6. Which blood pressure value does an oscillometric NIBP monitor measure directly, with the other values derived from it?

    1. Systolic pressure
    2. Diastolic pressure
    3. Mean arterial pressure
    4. Pulse pressure
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. The cuff oscillations are largest at mean arterial pressure, which the monitor measures directly. Systolic and diastolic are derived from where the oscillation amplitude rises and falls past set fractions of the maximum.

    From the lesson Blood Pressure: NIBP and Invasive Monitoring.

  7. How is a pulse oximeter's accuracy verified during preventive maintenance?

    1. By comparing its reading with an arterial blood gas drawn from a volunteer
    2. By measuring the LED drive current and the detector voltage with a multimeter
    3. By placing the probe on the technician's own finger and expecting about 98 percent
    4. By using an SpO2 simulator at several saturations and pulse rates and checking the alarm limits
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. An SpO2 simulator, optical or electronic, presents known saturations and pulse rates so the displayed value, the plethysmograph, and the alarm limits can be checked against specification. A finger test proves only that the probe responds, not that it reads accurately.

    From the lesson Oximetry, Capnography, Respiration, and Temperature.

  8. Under IEC 60601-1-8, how is a high-priority alarm such as asystole indicated visually?

    1. A flashing red light
    2. A flashing yellow light
    3. A steady cyan light
    4. A steady green light
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. High-priority alarms are red and flashing with an urgent tone; medium-priority alarms are yellow and flashing; low-priority alarms are cyan or yellow and steady.

    From the lesson Physiological Monitors, Telemetry, and Vital Signs Monitors.

  9. How does a fetal monitor measure fetal heart rate non-invasively?

    1. Impedance pneumography
    2. Ultrasound Doppler detecting the moving fetal heart
    3. ECG electrodes on the mother's abdomen
    4. Infrared absorption
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. The ultrasound transducer detects the frequency shift from the moving fetal heart and derives a rate. A fetal scalp electrode is the direct, invasive alternative.

    From the lesson Fetal Monitoring and EEG.

  10. Which test instrument measures the energy a defibrillator actually delivers?

    1. An electrical safety analyzer
    2. A patient simulator
    3. A defibrillator analyzer with a 50-ohm load
    4. An oscilloscope
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. A defibrillator analyzer presents a 50-ohm load that mimics the patient and measures delivered energy, charge time, synchronization, and pacing output.

    From the lesson Test Equipment and Units of Measure.

  11. A nurse reports that a monitor 'never works right' and asks for a replacement. What should the technician do first?

    1. Replace the monitor immediately so the unit is not left without a working device
    2. Gather details and verify the complaint by observing the fault
    3. Open the case and inspect the boards for burned components or loose connectors
    4. Order a new patient cable
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. The troubleshooting method begins with gathering information and reproducing the complaint. Replacing a device before verifying the fault often fixes nothing and hides a use error or an environmental cause.

    From the lesson The Troubleshooting Method and Device Versus Use Error.

  12. A technician replaces a blown inlet fuse on a device and it blows again immediately when powered on. What does this indicate?

    1. The replacement fuse was defective
    2. The outlet voltage is too low
    3. A short circuit downstream, such as a failed power supply or shorted load
    4. The fuse rating should be increased
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. A fuse that fails again after replacement indicates a fault it is protecting against. Installing a larger fuse is dangerous; the short must be located and repaired.

    From the lesson Power Supply, Battery, and Module Faults.

  13. An ECG lead wire that looks undamaged produces lead-off alarms whenever the patient moves. Where is the break most likely located?

    1. In the monitor's input circuit, where a cracked solder joint opens when the chassis is bumped
    2. In the central station software, which flags lead-off whenever the waveform amplitude changes
    3. In the electrode gel
    4. Inside the jacket at the strain relief near the snap or plug
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. Conductors fatigue and break at strain reliefs where cables flex most, while the outer jacket remains intact. A continuity test while flexing confirms it.

    From the lesson Signal, Cable, Connector, and Sensor Faults.

  14. Four service requests arrive at once: a cosmetic crack on a TENS unit, an ICU ventilator that failed its pre-use check with no spare available, a pump involved in an overdose last night, and a clinic's only ultrasound showing an image artifact. What is the correct order to act?

    1. Sequester the incident pump, then the ventilator, then the ultrasound, then the TENS
    2. Ultrasound first because the clinic has no other imaging, then ventilator, pump, TENS
    3. Ventilator first because it is life support, then TENS, ultrasound, and the pump last
    4. TENS, ultrasound, pump, ventilator
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Patient incidents come first so evidence is preserved, then life support without backup, then devices blocking care, and cosmetic issues last.

    From the lesson Prioritizing Repairs and Deciding Repair, Replace, or Escalate.

  15. Which opening question is most effective when a nurse calls to report a malfunctioning device?

    1. Did you check whether it was plugged in and that the battery was charged before calling?
    2. Tell me what happened, and what did the screen say exactly?
    3. Who was using it when it broke, and had they been trained on this model of device?
    4. Why didn't you call sooner?
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Open questions and the exact error text gather facts without implying blame. Questions that sound accusatory discourage staff from reporting future problems.

    From the lesson Communication, User Training, and Closing the Loop.

  16. An infusion pump switched to backup battery power while plugged in and no longer runs on AC. What should be checked FIRST?

    1. The power cable and outlet
    2. The voltage regulator output
    3. The internal power board
    4. The battery charging circuit
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Power cables are abused and fail often. Check the cable's continuity and the outlet before opening the pump to examine its internal power circuit.

    From the lesson Power Supply Faults, Criticality, Root Cause Analysis, and Local Versus Network Problems.

  17. Two devices have addresses 10.20.5.11 and 10.20.6.7 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. How do they communicate?

    1. Directly, because they share the first two octets and the mask's third octet only labels the building
    2. Only over Wi-Fi
    3. They cannot communicate, because devices on different subnets have no path between them
    4. Through a router at the default gateway, because they are on different subnets
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. With a /24 mask the first three octets identify the network: 10.20.5 and 10.20.6 differ, so traffic passes through the gateway router.

    From the lesson Networking Fundamentals: Addresses, Cables, and the Devices Between.

  18. Which Wi-Fi band offers longer range and better wall penetration but has only three non-overlapping channels and more interference?

    1. 2.4 GHz
    2. 5 GHz
    3. 6 GHz
    4. 608 MHz
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. 2.4 GHz propagates farther but is crowded and has few channels. 5 GHz offers more channels and speed with shorter range. 608 MHz is a medical telemetry band, not Wi-Fi.

    From the lesson Wireless, Access Point Controllers, KVMs, Virtual Servers, and the Cloud.

  19. A monitor has no link light at its network port, but a laptop plugged into the same wall jack shows link. What should be tried next?

    1. Reconfigure the monitor's IP address to match the subnet the laptop received
    2. Swap the monitor's patch cable, then suspect the monitor's network interface
    3. Restart the central station
    4. Call the vendor for a software update, since link negotiation is handled by the monitor's firmware
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Link at the jack with a laptop proves the building wiring and switch port; no link at the monitor points to its patch cable or its own network interface.

    From the lesson Network Troubleshooting Tools and Method.

  20. Which HL7 message type informs connected systems that a patient has been admitted, transferred, or discharged?

    1. ORU
    2. ORM
    3. ADT
    4. ACK
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. ADT messages maintain the census across systems. ORU carries results and observations, ORM carries orders, and ACK acknowledges receipt.

    From the lesson Device Integration: EMR, Middleware, HL7, and DICOM.