Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 32% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 68% of the time, stays with people.
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists.
90,160 people do this job in the US. $96,590 a year.
Reviewed on October 1, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work13 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people27 h
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 13 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 27 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Select images for the physician (about 3 h, a person checks); Report findings to the physician (about 2 h, a person checks); Maintain patient and QA records (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 15%
- 17%
- 3%
- 21%
- 45%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 32% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 4%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 32%. Today's estimate: 32%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 19 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0022% to 0.0017% (released February and March 2025); none to 0.0042% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0022% | 684 of 708 | 1 of 19 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0017% | 685 of 703 | 1 of 19 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 19 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.005% | 573 of 672 | 2 of 19 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0042% | 588 of 677 | 1 of 19 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 19 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 19 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 73% of this job's working time as physical work. For 3% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 3% in a purpose-built cell. 0.03 of 3, the 628th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 27%
- No robot shown 71%
- In a purpose-built cell 3%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
68% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Watch over patients during exams, the in-person work, 12%
- Perform ultrasound scans, the hands-on work, 12%
- Assist physicians during procedures, the in-person work, 6%
- Train students and sonographers, the in-person work, 6%
- Watch the scan and adjust, the hands-on work, 5%
- Set equipment and position patients, the hands-on work, 5%
What becomes checking the machine
31% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Select images for the physician, severe if wrong, 7%
- Report findings to the physician, severe if wrong, 6%
- Maintain patient and QA records, severe if wrong, 4%
- Schedule and keep records, costly if wrong, 4%
- Code and document procedures, severe if wrong, 3%
- Record and store images, severe if wrong, 2%
What to learn
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The hands-on craft. About 45% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
- The conversations. About 23% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.Attending to the patient on the table.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | In person 50%, hands-on 50% | Stays with people |
| Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.Scanning the patient with the probe.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.The written summary of findings, and a word with the physician.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 21 min8 min to 33 min | Documents 70%, conversation 30% | 70%Desk part half by now |
| Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.Reviewing the images and choosing the ones that show the findings.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.Working beside the physician, guiding the probe during the procedure.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | In person 50%, hands-on 50% | Stays with people |
| Supervise or train students or other medical sonographers.Teaching at the machine, side by side.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.Watching the image as it forms and adjusting the probe and settings at the bedside.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 13 min8 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.Settings on the machine and the patient positioned by hand.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.Asking the patient and entering the history in the record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | In person 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.Explaining, moving the patient onto the table, gel and positioning.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 13 min8 min to 21 min | Hands-on 70%, in person 30% | Stays with people |
| Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary.Cleaning and checking the machine, with a request logged when it needs service.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Hands-on 80%, systems 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Maintain records that include patient information, sonographs and interpretations, files of correspondence, publications and regulations, or quality assurance records, such as pathology, biopsy, or post-operative reports.Keeping the records in the department's systems.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians31% now, 31% by 2028
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians27% now, 29% by 2028
- Neurodiagnostic Technologists40% now, 40% by 2028
- Radiation Therapists29% now, 29% by 2028
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists62% now, 62% by 2028
- Ophthalmic Medical Technologists22% now, 22% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 32% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 32% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Select images for the physician (100% of the task's time now); Report findings to the physician (70% of the task's time now); and Maintain patient and QA records (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Watch over patients during exams; Perform ultrasound scans; and Assist physicians during procedures. Together such tasks are about 52% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Diagnostic Medical Sonographers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are judgment where errors are severe; the hands-on craft; and reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 68% of the working time stays with people, 31% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 73% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 3% of the working time. Its index is 0.03 of 3. One example: Vulcan for "keep supplies stocked". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 19 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 1, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.