Will AI replace Diagnostic Medical Sonographers?
AI reaches some of this job’s work, but most of it stays with people.
30/100
Moderate exposure
More exposed to AI than 47% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 46% of the work
What the job involves
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians. Includes vascular technologists.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(9)
- Provide sonogram and oral or written summary of technical findings to physician for use in medical diagnosis.
- Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly.
- Obtain and record accurate patient history, including prior test results or information from physical examinations.
- Determine whether scope of exam should be extended, based on findings.
- Coordinate work with physicians or other healthcare team members, including providing assistance during invasive procedures.
and 4 more
Out of reach(10)
- Observe screen during scan to ensure that image produced is satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, making adjustments to equipment as required.
- 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.
- Decide which images to include, looking for differences between healthy and pathological areas.
- 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.
and 5 more
Also called
Ultrasound Technologist (Ultrasound Tech) · Ultrasound Tech · Ultrasound Technician (Ultrasound Tech) · RDMS (Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer) · RDMS · Ultrasonic Tester · Ultrasound Tester · Cardiovascular Sonographer
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What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics