Maintain medical equipment or instruments.

Maintain medical equipment or instruments. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 23 occupations and seen in 28 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Maintain medical equipment or instruments. in Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment .

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 28 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 0 (0%) 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 0.014% 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.

• Clean, disinfect, or calibrate scopes or other endoscopic instruments according to manufacturer recommendations and facility standards. · Endoscopy Technicians · importance 5.0 · no direct exposure
• Maintain or repair endoscopic equipment. · Endoscopy Technicians · importance 4.9 · no direct exposure
• Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed. · Medical Equipment Preparers · importance 4.8 · no direct exposure
• Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary. · Respiratory Therapists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment. · Nurse Anesthetists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Calibrate, troubleshoot, or repair equipment and correct malfunctions, as needed. · Neurodiagnostic Technologists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Maintain ophthalmic instruments or equipment. · Ophthalmic Medical Technicians · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments. · Dental Hygienists · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Assemble, clean, or maintain equipment or materials for patient use. · Occupational Therapy Assistants · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Pretest and calibrate anesthesia delivery systems and monitors. · Anesthesiologist Assistants · importance 4.5 · no direct exposure
• Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods. · Pharmacy Technicians · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Calibrate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) console or peripheral hardware. · Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment. · Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies. · Occupational Therapy Aides · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Maintain instruments, equipment, or machinery to ensure proper working condition. · Veterinary Technologists and Technicians · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Calibrate or maintain machines, such as those used for plasma collection. · Phlebotomists · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Check, test, and maintain cardiology equipment, making minor repairs when necessary, to ensure proper operation. · Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Request anesthesia equipment repairs, adjustments, or safety tests. · Nurse Anesthetists · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Maintain ophthalmic instruments or equipment. · Ophthalmic Medical Technologists · importance 4.0 · no direct exposure
• Obtain, distribute, or maintain low vision devices. · Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists · importance 3.9 · no direct exposure
• Calibrate exercise or testing equipment. · Exercise Physiologists · importance 3.8 · no direct exposure
• Maintain equipment or furniture to keep it in good working condition, including performing the assembly or disassembly of equipment or accessories. · Physical Therapist Aides · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Adjust and repair assistive devices and make adaptive changes to other equipment and to environments. · Occupational Therapy Aides · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Maintain and clean equipment, work areas, or shelves. · Pharmacy Aides · importance 3.5 · no direct exposure
• Supervise maintenance of exercise or exercise testing equipment. · Exercise Physiologists · importance 3.4 · no direct exposure
• Ensure that equipment or devices are properly stored after use. · Critical Care Nurses · importance 3.2 · no direct exposure
• Perform team support duties, such as running errands, maintaining equipment, or stocking supplies. · Athletic Trainers · importance 2.8 · no direct exposure
• Maintain vehicles and medical and communication equipment, and replenish first aid equipment and supplies. · Emergency Medical Technicians · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Endoscopy Technicians
• Medical Equipment Preparers
• Respiratory Therapists
• Nurse Anesthetists
• Neurodiagnostic Technologists
• Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
• Dental Hygienists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Anesthesiologist Assistants
• Pharmacy Technicians
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
• Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
• Occupational Therapy Aides
• Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
• Phlebotomists
• Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
• Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists
• Exercise Physiologists
• Physical Therapist Aides
• Pharmacy Aides
• Critical Care Nurses
• Athletic Trainers
• Emergency Medical Technicians

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-maintain-medical-equipment-or-instruments,
  title  = {Maintain medical equipment or instruments.},
  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/maintain-medical-equipment-or-instruments}
}