CMD Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the CMD exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 CMD Exam Format at a Glance
📚 CMD Topics to Study (27)
✍️ Sample CMD Questions & Answers
1. Which quantity describes the rate of energy deposition by a charged particle per unit path length?
LET (keV/μm) describes the energy deposited per unit length along a charged particle's track and determines the biological effectiveness of different radiation types.
2. The percentage depth dose (PDD) for a photon beam increases with:
PDD increases with higher beam energy (deeper penetration) and larger field size (more scatter contribution), both of which increase dose at depth relative to dmax.
3. Which image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) technique uses implanted fiducial markers to verify prostate position before each treatment?
Implanted gold fiducial markers imaged with kV orthogonal or CBCT systems allow daily prostate localization and couch corrections to account for inter-fraction organ motion.
4. In brachytherapy, which quantity describes the strength of a radioactive source?
Air Kerma Strength (U = μGy·m²/h) is the standard quantity for specifying brachytherapy source strength, replacing older activity-based specifications.
5. What ethical consideration is most relevant to communication & interprofessional collaboration in CMD practice?
Maintaining confidentiality and acting in the best interest of stakeholders is the cornerstone ethical consideration for communication & interprofessional collaboration in professional practice.
6. What is the primary goal of treatment planning in radiation therapy?
The primary goal of treatment planning in radiation therapy is to create a plan that delivers a high, curative dose of radiation to the tumor while simultaneously minimizing the dose to surrounding healthy tissues and critical organs. This delicate balance, known as the therapeutic ratio, aims to maximize tumor control probability and minimize treatment-related side effects. Achieving this requires precise targeting and dose calculation.