Neurodiagnostic Technologists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 40% 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 60% of the time, stays with people.
Conduct electroneurodiagnostic (END) tests such as electroencephalograms, evoked potentials, polysomnograms, or electronystagmograms. May perform nerve conduction studies.
$50,290 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
Reviewed on October 3, 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 work16 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people24 h
Neurodiagnostic Technologists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 16 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 24 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Monitor patients during tests (about 7 h, a person checks); Mark artifacts on recordings (about 3 h, a person checks); Summarize test data (about 3 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.
- 11%
- 29%
- 0%
- 12%
- 47%
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 40% 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, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 31%. Today's estimate: 40%.
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 16 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0048% to 0.017% (released February and March 2025); 0.029% to 0.0033% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0048% | 609 of 708 | 1 of 16 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.017% | 447 of 703 | 2 of 16 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.029% | 319 of 655 | 1 of 16 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.005% | 574 of 672 | 2 of 16 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0033% | 605 of 677 | 1 of 16 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 16 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 16 |
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 74% of this job's working time as physical work. For 5% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 5% in a purpose-built cell. 0.05 of 3, the 577th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 26%
- No robot shown 68%
- In a purpose-built cell 5%
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
60% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Conduct neurodiagnostic tests, the hands-on work, 15%
- Monitor patients during tests, the hands-on work, 11%
- Measure evoked potentials, the hands-on work, 5%
- Attach electrodes, the hands-on work, 5%
- Test for brain activity, the hands-on work, 4%
- Calibrate and repair equipment, the hands-on work, 4%
What becomes checking the machine
40% 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.
- Monitor patients during tests, severe if wrong, 17%
- Mark artifacts on recordings, severe if wrong, 7%
- Summarize test data, severe if wrong, 6%
- Submit test reports, severe if wrong, 6%
- Set up montages, severe if wrong, 3%
- Collect medical information, severe if wrong, 1%
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 47% 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.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 29% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
- Handling protected records. Much of the work touches protected personal records: knowing what may be shared with a model, and how, is part of the job.
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 . 16 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor patients during tests or surgeries, using electroencephalographs (EEG), evoked potential (EP) instruments, or video recording equipment.The traces and video watched through the test or surgery, at the patient.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 28% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Systems 60%, hands-on 40% | 59%Desk part half by now |
| Conduct tests or studies such as electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography (PSG), nerve conduction studies (NCS), electromyography (EMG), and intraoperative monitoring (IOM).EEG, sleep, nerve conduction and monitoring studies run on the patient.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 15% | 1.3 h38 min to 6.7 h | Hands-on 80%, in person 20% | Stays with people |
| Indicate artifacts or interferences derived from sources outside of the brain, such as poor electrode contact or patient movement, on electroneurodiagnostic recordings.Interference from electrode contact or movement marked on the recording.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Summarize technical data to assist physicians to diagnose brain, sleep, or nervous system disorders.The technical findings of the recording written up for the physician.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Submit reports to physicians summarizing test results.Reports of the results written and sent to the physician.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Documents 70%, systems 30% | 100%Half by now |
| Measure visual, auditory, or somatosensory evoked potentials (EPs) to determine responses to stimuli.Stimuli given and the responses recorded at the equipment.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Attach electrodes to patients, using adhesives.Electrodes fixed to the patient with adhesive.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 21 min13 min to 38 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Conduct tests to determine cerebral death, the absence of brain activity, or the probability of recovery from a coma.Recordings run to show whether brain activity is present.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Calibrate, troubleshoot, or repair equipment and correct malfunctions, as needed.Equipment calibrated, faults traced and repairs made.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 2.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Collect patients' medical information needed to customize tests.Asking the patient for the history the test needs and entering it.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | In person 70%, systems 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Measure patients' body parts and mark locations where electrodes are to be placed.The head and body measured and the electrode positions marked.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, On-scalp EEG e-tattoo printing system (5-axis printing robot + automated sensor layout algorithm) (University of Texas at Austin / UCLA) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Explain testing procedures to patients, answering questions or reassuring patients, as needed.Telling the patient what the test involves and answering questions.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min8 min to 25 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
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
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographers32% now, 32% by 2028
- Ophthalmic Medical Technologists22% now, 22% by 2028
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists24% now, 29% by 2028
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists62% now, 62% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Neurodiagnostic Technologists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 40% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 40% 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 Neurodiagnostic Technologists 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: Monitor patients during tests (59% of the task's time now); Mark artifacts on recordings (100% of the task's time now); and Summarize test data (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Neurodiagnostic Technologists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Conduct neurodiagnostic tests; Measure evoked potentials; and Attach electrodes. Together such tasks are about 45% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Neurodiagnostic Technologists 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 60% of the working time stays with people, 40% 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 Neurodiagnostic Technologists?
- 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 4%. 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 Neurodiagnostic Technologists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 74% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 5% of the working time. Its index is 0.05 of 3. One example: On-scalp EEG e-tattoo printing system (5-axis printing robot + automated sensor layout algorithm) for "measure and mark electrode sites". 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 16 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 3, 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.
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