Job Check
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 02Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Operate ultrasound equipment to produce and record images of the motion, shape, and composition of blood, organs, tissues, or bodily masses, such as fluid accumulations.Mostly human for now
- 04Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.Mostly human for now
- 05Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 06Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.Mostly human for now
- 07Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 08Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 09Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.Mostly human for now
- 10Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
30%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 20% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 32% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- 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.
- Observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort.
- Select appropriate equipment settings and adjust patient positions to obtain the best sites and angles.