AI exposure: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
Operate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners. Monitor patient safety and comfort, and view images of area being scanned to ensure quality of pictures. May administer gadolinium contrast dosage intravenously. May interview patient, explain MRI procedures, and position patient on examining table. May enter into the computer data such as patient history, anatomical area to be scanned, orientation specified, and position of entry.
Reading this score
computedAt 19.4% of weighted task load, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists sits at the 34th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 61.3% 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 accountability. Across this occupation's 24 tasks it averages 2.09 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, someone licensed has to sign the work. Capability and permission are different things. Where a statute or a professional body requires a named, liable human to approve the output, the work can be drafted by a machine and still require the person.
The most exposed thing this job does is Create backup copies of images by transferring images from disk to storage media or workstation, at 86.7%. The least is Attach physiological monitoring leads to patient's finger, chest, waist, or other body parts, at 0.0%. A gap of 86.7% 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 more exposed than most. The median across the 89 roles in the group is 18.4%, and only 38 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 24 tasks, 6 are currently banded exposed, 6 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 | 1.58 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.85 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.59 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 2.09 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.48 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.08 | 0-3 |
Task by task
24 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create backup copies of images by transferring images from disk to storage media or workstation. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 4.52 | exposed |
| Schedule appointments for research subjects or clinical patients. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.25 | exposed |
| Write reports or notes to summarize testing procedures or outcomes for physicians or other medical professionals. | 53.3% | 46.7% | 0.0% | 4.41 | exposed |
| Develop or otherwise produce film records of magnetic resonance images. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.85 | exposed |
| Inspect images for quality, using magnetic resonance scanner equipment and laser camera. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.60 | exposed |
| Conduct inventories to maintain stock of clinical supplies. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.95 | exposed |
| Review physicians' orders to confirm prescribed exams. | 28.5% | 29.8% | 41.7% | 5.00 | assisted |
| Select appropriate imaging techniques or coils to produce required images. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 4.91 | assisted |
| Conduct screening interviews of patients to identify contraindications, such as ferrous objects, pregnancy, prosthetic heart valves, cardiac pacemakers, or tattoos. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 5.00 | assisted |
| Take brief medical histories from patients. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.73 | assisted |
| Comfort patients during exams, or request sedatives or other medication from physicians for patients with anxiety or claustrophobia. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.41 | assisted |
| Explain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures to patients, patient representatives, or family members. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.41 | assisted |
| Provide headphones or earplugs to patients to improve comfort and reduce unpleasant noise. | 10.8% | 14.2% | 75.0% | 4.83 | untouched |
| Test magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment to ensure proper functioning and performance in accordance with specifications. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.55 | untouched |
| Operate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 4.87 | untouched |
| Operate optical systems to capture dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, such as functional brain imaging, real-time organ motion tracking, or musculoskeletal anatomy and trajectory visualization. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 4.06 | untouched |
| Instruct medical staff or students in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures or equipment operation. | 5.0% | 20.0% | 75.0% | 4.43 | untouched |
| Place and secure small, portable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners on body part to be imaged, such as arm, leg, or head. | 3.3% | 9.2% | 87.5% | 4.79 | untouched |
| Position patients on cradle, attaching immobilization devices, if needed, to ensure appropriate placement for imaging. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.77 | untouched |
| Intravenously inject contrast dyes, such as gadolinium contrast, in accordance with scope of practice. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
| Calibrate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) console or peripheral hardware. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.35 | untouched |
| Troubleshoot technical issues related to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner or peripheral equipment, such as monitors or coils. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.18 | untouched |
| Connect physiological leads to physiological acquisition control (PAC) units. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.12 | untouched |
| Attach physiological monitoring leads to patient's finger, chest, waist, or other body parts. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.06 | 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.