What should you know about a sitting MRI scan?

A sitting MRI scan takes magnetic images while you remain upright or partly upright, depending on the scanner design. This differs from a conventional examination in which you usually lie on a table. The scanner type and body part being examined determine whether sitting is possible and whether the images answer the clinical question.

An upright position may be useful when symptoms or movement change with posture, but it does not replace every conventional MRI examination. You must keep the area being scanned still while the images are taken. The machine can be noisy, and the open design varies between centres. A [MRI Scanner](/technology/mri-scanner/) uses a magnetic field, so metal and implanted devices must be checked before you enter the scan room.

Follow the centre’s instructions about food, drink, medicines, and contrast. Wear clothing without metal and remove jewellery, watches, cards, and hearing aids if requested. Tell staff about implants, metal fragments, pregnancy, kidney disease, or difficulty standing safely. Explain if you have pain, dizziness, or anxiety; the team can discuss supports and whether another position is safer. Results are interpreted with your symptoms and examination, not from the scan image alone.

Contact the requesting clinician if pain, weakness, vision change, severe headache, or balance problems are worsening while you wait for imaging. Seek urgent care for sudden weakness, a seizure, confusion, sudden loss of vision, or trouble breathing. These symptoms require prompt assessment regardless of whether an MRI has been arranged, and they do not by themselves prove a brain tumour.

Ask why an upright position is being considered, which body area will be scanned, and whether contrast is needed. Ask how long you will need to remain upright, what happens if you cannot stay still, and when the report will be discussed. If tissue sampling is later suggested, ask how an MRI finding relates to a [Biopsy](/treatments/diagnostics-and-staging/biopsy/).