AI exposure: Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
Conduct tests on pulmonary or cardiovascular systems of patients for diagnostic, therapeutic, or research purposes. May conduct or assist in electrocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations, pulmonary functions, lung capacity, and similar tests.
Reading this score
computedAt 15.9% of weighted task load, Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians sits at the 25th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 62.6% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is verification cost. Across this occupation's 21 tasks it averages 2.54 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, checking the output costs more than producing it. Where an undetected error is expensive, dangerous or irreversible, the economics change. Someone has to verify the work, and verifying can cost as much as doing it. This is the friction most likely to fall as tools for checking improve.
The most exposed thing this job does is Assess cardiac physiology and calculate valve areas from blood flow velocity measurements, at 60.0%. The least is Inject contrast medium into patients' blood vessels, at 0.0%. A gap of 60.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within healthcare practitioner and technical occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 18.5% across the group's 89 roles, with 62 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 21 tasks, 4 are currently banded exposed, 5 assisted and 12 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.46 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.75 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.95 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 2.39 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.48 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.54 | 0-3 |
Task by task
21 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assess cardiac physiology and calculate valve areas from blood flow velocity measurements. | 60.0% | 40.0% | 0.0% | 4.62 | exposed |
| Perform general administrative tasks, such as scheduling appointments or ordering supplies or equipment. | 57.4% | 25.9% | 16.7% | 3.61 | exposed |
| Transcribe, type, and distribute reports of diagnostic procedures for interpretation by physician. | 46.7% | 40.8% | 12.5% | 4.55 | exposed |
| Compare measurements of heart wall thickness and chamber sizes to standard norms to identify abnormalities. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.72 | exposed |
| Obtain and record patient identification, medical history, or test results. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.62 | assisted |
| Observe ultrasound display screen and listen to signals to record vascular information, such as blood pressure, limb volume changes, oxygen saturation, or cerebral circulation. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.69 | assisted |
| Observe gauges, recorder, and video screens of data analysis system during imaging of cardiovascular system. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.61 | assisted |
| Explain testing procedures to patients to obtain cooperation and reduce anxiety. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.71 | assisted |
| Monitor patients' comfort and safety during tests, alerting physicians to abnormalities or changes in patient responses. | 11.7% | 38.3% | 50.0% | 4.61 | assisted |
| Adjust equipment and controls according to physicians' orders or established protocol. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.46 | untouched |
| Set up 24-hour Holter and event monitors, scan and interpret tapes, and report results to physicians. | 7.8% | 17.2% | 75.0% | 4.16 | untouched |
| Operate diagnostic imaging equipment to produce contrast enhanced radiographs of heart and cardiovascular system. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 4.62 | untouched |
| Supervise or train other cardiology technologists or students. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 3.74 | untouched |
| Monitor patients' blood pressure and heart rate using electrocardiogram (EKG) equipment during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures to notify the physician if something appears wrong. | 3.3% | 21.7% | 75.0% | 4.66 | untouched |
| Check, test, and maintain cardiology equipment, making minor repairs when necessary, to ensure proper operation. | 2.6% | 5.7% | 91.7% | 4.12 | untouched |
| Conduct electrocardiogram (EKG), phonocardiogram, echocardiogram, stress testing, or other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity, using specialized electronic test equipment, recording devices, or laboratory instruments. | 2.1% | 10.4% | 87.5% | 4.83 | untouched |
| Prepare and position patients for testing. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.60 | untouched |
| Attach electrodes to the patients' chests, arms, and legs, connect electrodes to leads from the electrocardiogram (EKG) machine, and operate the EKG machine to obtain a reading. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.60 | untouched |
| Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.71 | untouched |
| Assist physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac or peripheral vascular treatments, such as implanting pacemakers or assisting with balloon angioplasties to treat blood vessel blockages. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.64 | untouched |
| Inject contrast medium into patients' blood vessels. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.