Will AI replace Radiation Therapists?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
18/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 32% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 33% of the work
What the job involves
Provide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiation oncologist according to established practices and standards. Duties may include reviewing prescription and diagnosis; acting as liaison with physician and supportive care personnel; preparing equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, and protection devices; and maintaining records, reports, and files. May assist in dosimetry procedures and tumor localization.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(7)
- Observe and reassure patients during treatment and report unusual reactions to physician or turn equipment off if unexpected adverse reactions occur.
- Maintain records, reports, or files as required, including such information as radiation dosages, equipment settings, or patients' reactions.
- Enter data into computer and set controls to operate or adjust equipment or regulate dosage.
- Schedule patients for treatment times.
- Act as liaison with physicist and supportive care personnel.
and 2 more
Out of reach(15)
- Follow principles of radiation protection for patient, self, and others.
- Review prescription, diagnosis, patient chart, and identification.
- Position patients for treatment with accuracy, according to prescription.
- Educate, prepare, and reassure patients and their families by answering questions, providing physical assistance, and reinforcing physicians' advice regarding treatment reactions or post-treatment care.
- Check radiation therapy equipment to ensure proper operation.
and 10 more
Also called
Dosimetrist · Radiation Therapist (RT) · Radiation Therapy Technologist (RTT) · RT · RTT · Registered Radiation Therapist · Radiation Therapy Technician · Computed Tomography Simulation Therapist (CT Simulation Therapist)
Related jobs
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