Medical radiographers
Medical (diagnostic) radiographers operate x-ray machines, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and other imaging devices for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, assist in the diagnosis of injuries and diseases and are involved in intervention procedures such as the removal of kidney stones. They operate under the supervision of senior staff. Therapeutic radiographers specialise in the planning and administration of radiotherapy treatment for patients with cancer.
- Employees (UK)
- 45k
- Median annual pay
- £44,324
- Exposure score ?
- 0.5/10 Minimal 5.9/10 Moderate strict reading, with tools is 5.9/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.5/10
- Wage exposure
- £100m £1.18bn
Higher exposure than 27% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A real share of the task list is within reach, especially drafting, summarising, research and analysis. People in this role who learn to direct AI well will pull ahead of those who do not.
If you are in this role
Treat AI like a capable junior you manage. Where you would hand a task to a junior with a clear brief, AI can do it now. Spend the time you get back on judgement and relationships.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.
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Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.
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Monitor patients' conditions and reactions, reporting abnormal signs to physician.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.
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Monitor patients' conditions and reactions, reporting abnormal signs to physician.
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Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Radiologic Technologists and Technicians" (29-2034.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 30 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
30 of 30 tasks
Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.
Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.
Monitor patients' conditions and reactions, reporting abnormal signs to physician.
Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan.
Use radiation safety measures and protection devices to comply with government regulations and to ensure safety of patients and staff.
Review and evaluate developed x-rays, video tape, or computer-generated information to determine if images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes.
Determine patients' x-ray needs by reading requests or instructions from physicians.
Prepare contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals, or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist.
Process exposed radiographs using film processors or computer generated methods.
Operate mobile x-ray equipment in operating room, emergency room, or at patient's bedside.
Make exposures necessary for the requested procedures, rejecting and repeating work that does not meet established standards.
Operate or oversee operation of radiologic or magnetic imaging equipment to produce images of the body for diagnostic purposes.
Operate digital picture archiving communications systems.
Perform procedures, such as linear tomography, mammography, sonograms, joint and cyst aspirations, routine contrast studies, routine fluoroscopy, or examinations of the head, trunk, or extremities under supervision of physician.
Provide assistance to physicians or other technologists in the performance of more complex procedures.
Record, process, and maintain patient data or treatment records and prepare reports.
Take thorough and accurate patient medical histories.
Key commands and data into computer to document and specify scan sequences, adjust transmitters and receivers, or photograph certain images.
Operate fluoroscope to aid physician to view and guide wire or catheter through blood vessels to area of interest.
Set up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready.
Transport patients to or from exam rooms.
Assist with on-the-job training of new employees or students or provide input to supervisors regarding training performance.
Maintain a current file of examination protocols.
Perform general administrative tasks, such as answering phones, scheduling patient appointments, or pulling and filing films.
Complete quality control activities, monitor equipment operation, and report malfunctioning equipment to supervisor.
Assign duties to radiologic staff to maintain patient flows and achieve production goals.
Provide assistance in dressing or changing seriously ill or injured patients or patients with disabilities.
Coordinate work with clerical personnel or other technologists and technicians.
Perform supervisory duties, such as developing departmental operating budget, coordinating purchases of supplies or equipment, or preparing work schedules.
Provide students or other technicians and technologists with suggestions of additional views, alternate positioning, or improved techniques to ensure the images produced are of the highest quality.
Tasks via O*NET "Radiologic Technologists and Technicians" (29-2034.00).
What AI can already do
23 of 30 tasks, with tools
Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.
Monitor patients' conditions and reactions, reporting abnormal signs to physician.
Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan.
Use radiation safety measures and protection devices to comply with government regulations and to ensure safety of patients and staff.
Review and evaluate developed x-rays, video tape, or computer-generated information to determine if images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes.
Determine patients' x-ray needs by reading requests or instructions from physicians.
Process exposed radiographs using film processors or computer generated methods.
Make exposures necessary for the requested procedures, rejecting and repeating work that does not meet established standards.
Operate or oversee operation of radiologic or magnetic imaging equipment to produce images of the body for diagnostic purposes.
Operate digital picture archiving communications systems.
Perform procedures, such as linear tomography, mammography, sonograms, joint and cyst aspirations, routine contrast studies, routine fluoroscopy, or examinations of the head, trunk, or extremities under supervision of physician.
Provide assistance to physicians or other technologists in the performance of more complex procedures.
Record, process, and maintain patient data or treatment records and prepare reports.
Take thorough and accurate patient medical histories.
Key commands and data into computer to document and specify scan sequences, adjust transmitters and receivers, or photograph certain images.
Assist with on-the-job training of new employees or students or provide input to supervisors regarding training performance.
Maintain a current file of examination protocols.
Perform general administrative tasks, such as answering phones, scheduling patient appointments, or pulling and filing films.
Complete quality control activities, monitor equipment operation, and report malfunctioning equipment to supervisor.
Assign duties to radiologic staff to maintain patient flows and achieve production goals.
Coordinate work with clerical personnel or other technologists and technicians.
Perform supervisory duties, such as developing departmental operating budget, coordinating purchases of supplies or equipment, or preparing work schedules.
Provide students or other technicians and technologists with suggestions of additional views, alternate positioning, or improved techniques to ensure the images produced are of the highest quality.
What still needs a person
7 of 30 tasks
Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.
Prepare contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals, or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist.
Operate mobile x-ray equipment in operating room, emergency room, or at patient's bedside.
Operate fluoroscope to aid physician to view and guide wire or catheter through blood vessels to area of interest.
Set up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready.
Transport patients to or from exam rooms.
Provide assistance in dressing or changing seriously ill or injured patients or patients with disabilities.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons