Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
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.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 33%
- 0%
- 67%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
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, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 33%. Today's estimate: 33%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 12% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 12% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 21 min8 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Supervise or train students or other medical sonographers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min8 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean, check, and maintain sonographic equipment, submitting maintenance requests or performing minor repairs as necessary.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 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.
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 Technicians18% now, 18% by 2028
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians27% now, 34% by 2028
- Neurodiagnostic Technologists23% now, 24% by 2028
- Radiation Therapists27% now, 29% by 2028
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists61% now, 62% by 2028
- Ophthalmic Medical Technologists21% now, 21% 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).