Fabricate medical devices.

Fabricate medical devices. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 11 occupations and seen in 18 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Fabricate medical devices. in Handling and Moving Objects .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 18 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 3 (17%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 1 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.002% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications. · Opticians, Dispensing · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Select materials and components to be used, based on device design. · Orthotists and Prosthetists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Prepare or construct equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, or protection devices. · Radiation Therapists · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Design and fabricate appliances, such as space maintainers, retainers, and labial and lingual arch wires. · Orthodontists · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Design, make, or fit prosthodontic appliances, such as space maintainers, bridges, or dentures, or write fabrication instructions or prescriptions for denturists or dental technicians. · Dentists, General · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Repair, rebuild, and modify prosthetic and orthopedic appliances. · Orthotists and Prosthetists · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Fabricate lenses to meet prescription specifications. · Opticians, Dispensing · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Create or modify impressions for earmolds and hearing aid shells. · Hearing Aid Specialists · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Construct and fabricate appliances, or supervise others constructing the appliances. · Orthotists and Prosthetists · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Make and modify plaster casts of areas to be fitted with prostheses or orthoses to guide the device construction process. · Orthotists and Prosthetists · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Assemble eyeglasses by cutting and edging lenses, and fitting the lenses into frames. · Opticians, Dispensing · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment. · Occupational Therapists · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Make and fit prosthetic appliances. · Podiatrists · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Fabricate beam modifying devices, such as compensators, shields, and wedge filters. · Medical Dosimetrists · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Grind lens edges, or apply coatings to lenses. · Opticians, Dispensing · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices. · Physical Therapists · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Fabricate patient immobilization devices, such as molds or casts, for radiation delivery. · Medical Dosimetrists · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Make impressions for study casts. · Dental Hygienists · importance 2.8 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Opticians, Dispensing
• Orthotists and Prosthetists
• Radiation Therapists
• Orthodontists
• Dentists, General
• Hearing Aid Specialists
• Occupational Therapists
• Podiatrists
• Medical Dosimetrists
• Physical Therapists
• Dental Hygienists

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-fabricate-medical-devices,
  title  = {Fabricate medical devices.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/fabricate-medical-devices}
}