This overview includes information to help you prepare for the Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician exam. You will find details about eligibility, candidate status, the current exam content outline, registration, costs, scoring, retakes, certification renewal, and study resources.
Questions165 multiple-choice questions | Time Limit3 hours |
Exam FormatComputer-based and closed book | CalculatorA simple calculator is permitted |
Exam Background and Purpose
The Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician, or CBET, credential is administered by the AAMI Certification Institute. It is intended for healthcare technology management professionals who work with the medical equipment, computer systems, networks, and software used in patient care.
Biomedical equipment technicians may inspect, install, test, calibrate, maintain, and repair medical devices. They may also investigate equipment failures, support medical-device networks, maintain service records, provide staff education, and help healthcare organizations comply with safety and regulatory requirements.
CBET certification demonstrates broad knowledge across medical technology, electronics, information technology, troubleshooting, anatomy, safety, and healthcare standards.
Key point: CBET is designed for professionals with broad biomedical-equipment responsibilities. AAMI offers separate credentials for entry-level associates, radiology equipment specialists, healthcare technology managers, and industrial sterilization specialists.
Full CBET Eligibility Requirements
Applicants seeking full CBET certification must meet one of the following education, military-training, or work-experience routes by the application deadline.
Degree and Experience RouteHold an associate degree or higher in an electronics, technology, or science program and complete two years of full-time biomedical equipment technology work experience. | Military Training RouteComplete a United States military biomedical equipment technology program and two years of full-time biomedical equipment technology work experience. |
Work-Experience RouteComplete four years of full-time biomedical equipment technology work experience. | |
Applicants using a degree or military-training route must submit the documentation requested by AAMI. International applicants may also be required to provide official educational records or an evaluation of their academic credentials.
CBET Candidate Status
Applicants who are not yet eligible for full certification may qualify to take the exam under candidate status.
A candidate-status applicant must meet at least one of the following requirements:
- Hold an associate degree or higher in an electronics, technology, or science program.
- Complete a United States military biomedical equipment technology program.
- Complete two years of full-time biomedical equipment technology work experience.
A candidate-status applicant who passes the examination has five years to complete the remaining full-certification requirements and apply for an upgrade to full CBET status.
Passing the exam under candidate status does not immediately grant full CBET certification. The candidate must still document completion of the full education and experience requirements.
CBET Test Overview
The CBET exam is a three-hour, closed-book examination containing 165 multiple-choice questions.
Questions measure both technical knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to realistic healthcare technology situations. Candidates may need to interpret equipment behavior, identify likely causes of failure, select an appropriate troubleshooting step, apply electrical principles, or recognize a safety or regulatory concern.
A simple calculator may be brought into the examination. Devices with internet access, cameras, communication functions, or stored reference material are prohibited.
Current CBET Content Outline
The current exam contains six content areas. Healthcare Technology and Function and Healthcare Technology Problem Solving are the largest sections and together account for approximately 60% of the examination.
Anatomy and Physiology
7%
Functions and abnormal functions of major physiological systems, major organs, body-system relationships, and basic medical terminology.
Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics
6%
Voltage, current, resistance, power, Ohm’s law, active and passive devices, schematics, power distribution, transformers, batteries, uninterruptible power supplies, and electrical troubleshooting.
Healthcare Information Technology
17%
Computer hardware, operating systems, software, wired and wireless networks, routers, switches, access points, servers, cloud systems, cybersecurity, protected data, device integration, middleware, IP addresses, and MAC addresses.
Healthcare Technology and Function
30%
Normal operation and underlying technology of patient monitors, diagnostic equipment, infusion devices, therapeutic equipment, perioperative systems, life-support equipment, laboratory equipment, test instruments, physiological measurements, and related clinical concepts.
Healthcare Technology Problem Solving
30%
Equipment troubleshooting, fault isolation, corrective action, repair prioritization, device errors, use errors, network problems, communication, staff education, and problem solving involving monitoring, diagnostic, infusion, therapeutic, perioperative, and laboratory equipment.
Public Safety in the Healthcare Facility
10%
Electrical safety, shock hazards, NFPA 99, IEC 60601, hazard symbols, radiation and magnetic-resonance safety, infection control, personal protective equipment, CMS, accrediting organizations, AAMI standards, maintenance documentation, and computerized maintenance management systems.
Do not rely on an older CBET outline listing Healthcare Technology and Function and Problem Solving at 25% each. The current blueprint assigns 30% to each of those domains and gives substantially more weight to Healthcare Information Technology.
Healthcare Technology and Function
This domain measures whether candidates understand how common medical devices and test instruments normally operate.
Equipment Categories to Review
- Physiological monitors, telemetry, fetal monitors, vital-sign systems, ECG, EEG, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, temperature, and capnography
- Diagnostic equipment such as audiometers, spirometers, ECG systems, stress-test equipment, ultrasound devices, scales, otoscopes, and ophthalmoscopes
- Infusion pumps, syringe pumps, feeding pumps, patient-controlled analgesia pumps, and injectors
- Therapeutic devices, suction systems, temperature-management equipment, sequential compression devices, and physical-therapy equipment
- Electrosurgical units, surgical tables, lights, microscopes, tourniquets, sterilization systems, and operating-room integration equipment
- Ventilators, defibrillators, anesthesia machines, balloon pumps, and external pacemakers
- Centrifuges, incubators, refrigerators, freezers, microscopes, analyzers, water baths, cryostats, and microtomes
- Electrical safety analyzers, patient simulators, defibrillator analyzers, electrosurgical analyzers, meters, and other biomedical test equipment
Healthcare Technology Problem Solving
This section evaluates whether candidates can apply technical knowledge to equipment failures and clinical problems.
Questions may require you to determine the most likely cause of a malfunction, distinguish user error from equipment failure, prioritize repairs based on risk, recognize a system-wide network problem, or choose the safest corrective action.
Technical Analysis
| Clinical and Operational Judgment
|
Healthcare Information Technology
Healthcare IT now represents approximately 17% of the exam. Candidates should be prepared for substantially more computer, network, integration, and cybersecurity content than appeared on older CBET blueprints.
Healthcare IT Topics
- Computer components, power supplies, hard drives, memory, peripherals, cables, and connectors
- Windows, Linux, Unix, office applications, software updates, and patches
- Local and wide area networks, wireless networks, switches, routers, access points, servers, and cloud systems
- IP addresses, MAC addresses, network commands, cable tracing, and connectivity testing
- Medical-device integration, electronic medical records, middleware, and interface troubleshooting
- Firewalls, passwords, phishing, patching, protected health information, and cybersecurity frameworks
- HIPAA, NIST, HITRUST, and healthcare cybersecurity expectations
Registration and Testing Windows
Candidates create an AAMI account, submit an electronic application, select a testing window, provide the required eligibility documentation, and pay the applicable fee.
CBET testing is normally offered during two annual computer-based testing windows:
Spring WindowMay 1 through May 15 | Fall WindowNovember 1 through November 15 |
Application and late-registration deadlines are posted separately for each window. A late fee may apply after the regular deadline.
AAMI generally reviews complete applications within several business days. Approved candidates receive a contact ID, voucher code, and instructions