Claustrophobic? Your Options for an MRI Scan

You have four realistic options: preparation and coaching in a standard scanner, a wide-bore scanner, an open or upright scanner, or sedation. Most people manage a standard scan once they know what actually happens. Open and upright scanners are more comfortable but run at lower field strength, so image quality is a genuine trade-off.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If anxiety is affecting your daily life, that is worth raising with your GP in its own right.

What people are actually reacting to

It helps to separate the three things that make an MRI unpleasant, because they have different solutions.

The first is the enclosure. A standard scanner bore is a tunnel, typically around 60 cm across, and for some scans your face is close to the top of it. The second is the noise. The MHRA's MRI safety guidelines note that levels inside the bore can approach 120 to 140 dB, comparable to a jet aircraft nearby, which is why hearing protection is standard and why the guidance says it must be available whenever levels could exceed 80 dB(A). The third is having to stay still for long enough that you start noticing both.

Different options fix different parts of that. Sedation addresses the anxiety but not the noise. An open scanner addresses the enclosure but not the duration.

Option one: a standard scanner, done properly

This is the option people skip, and it is the one that works most often. It is also free.

• Ask which way round you go in. For knee, ankle, foot and many lower-limb scans you go in feet first and your head may never enter the bore. For a shoulder or hand, you may be positioned to one side. It is worth asking about your specific scan rather than assuming the worst case.
• Ask for a practice run. Many centres will let you lie on the table and go partway in before starting, so the first time is not the real time.
• Use the eye mask, or keep your eyes shut from before you go in. A surprising amount of the reaction is visual.
• Take the call buzzer seriously. You hold it throughout and the scan stops when you press it. People who have tested it early are noticeably calmer.
• Ask whether someone can come in with you. They will need to complete the same safety screening, but it is often possible.
• Ask about music or a mirror. Many scanners have a prism mirror that lets you look out of the bore rather than at it.

Our guide to what to expect from an MRI scan walks through the sequence of the appointment, which for a lot of people is most of the battle.

Option two: a wide-bore scanner

Wide-bore scanners are conventional machines with a larger opening, typically around 70 cm rather than 60 cm, and usually a shorter tunnel. Crucially, they are still full-strength: most are 1.5 tesla or 3 tesla, so you are not trading image quality for comfort.

That extra 10 cm sounds trivial and is not. It is the difference between your shoulders touching the sides and not, and for a lot of people that is the whole problem.

Wide-bore machines are now common in UK private imaging, and they are usually priced the same as any other MRI at that centre. If you are nervous but not severely claustrophobic, this is the first thing to ask for.

Option three: open and upright scanners

An open scanner has a magnet above and below you rather than a tunnel around you, so the sides are open. An upright scanner, such as the FONAR design used by the specialist upright centres in the UK, lets you be scanned sitting, standing or leaning, which removes the enclosure almost entirely.

Here is the honest part. Both types run at lower field strength. Open scanners are commonly in the 0.2 to 0.4 tesla range; FONAR publishes a field strength of 0.6 tesla for its upright system. A 1.5 tesla or 3 tesla machine has more signal to work with, which generally translates into finer detail, or the same detail in less time.

What that means practically:

• For many spine and large-joint questions, a lower-field scan is often perfectly diagnostic.
• For fine anatomical detail, small joints, brain imaging and prostate work, the higher-field machine is usually preferred.
• Scans on lower-field machines can take longer, which partly offsets the comfort benefit.

Upright scanning has a second, quite different selling point: it can image the spine under load, in the position that actually hurts. That is a clinical argument rather than a claustrophobia argument, and it is legitimate on its own terms.

Ask the clinic directly whether a lower-field scan will answer your referrer's question. A good centre will tell you when it will not. Our comparison of open versus closed MRI scanners goes into the differences in more detail.

Option four: sedation

Some private centres offer oral sedation, usually a short-acting medication taken before the scan. Many do not, because it requires a prescriber, monitoring and recovery space.

If you go this route, expect the following: you will need someone to bring you home and stay with you, you will not be able to drive for the rest of the day, the appointment will be longer, and there is usually an additional charge. General anaesthesia for an adult MRI is uncommon outside hospital settings and is arranged through a consultant, not booked online.

Sedation also does not shorten the scan or quieten it. It changes how you feel about being there.

What the options cost

Prices below were read from UK providers' own websites in September 2026 and change regularly. They are market ranges, not quotes, and they describe the market rather than any one clinic.

Two things in that table surprise people. The first is that upright scanning is not automatically the expensive option; in London it starts at a similar level to mid-range conventional MRI. The second is the width of the standard range. The same single-region MRI can cost three times as much depending on the provider, how fast you need it and whether you are buying from an independent imaging centre or a private hospital.

Be careful with hospital pricing in particular. Published hospital figures are often the hospital charge only, with the consultant's fee billed separately, and several of the largest names publish no price at all and quote on enquiry.

Where to find these scanners in the UK

Wide-bore machines are widespread. Open and upright scanners are a much smaller group, concentrated in London and a handful of other cities, so the practical constraint is often travel rather than money.

If you need an upright or open scan, search on that basis first and on price second, because the shortlist is short. You can compare MRI scanners and clinics across the UK and filter to the centres that actually have the machine you need.

One thing worth saying plainly

If you have tried before and could not go through with it, that is common and it is not a character failure. Radiographers see it constantly. Tell the clinic when you book rather than discovering it on the table, because they will schedule you differently: a longer slot, a quieter time of day, and someone who is not watching the clock.

Frequently asked questions

Is an open MRI as good as a normal one? Usually not, and it is worth knowing that before you book. Open scanners run at lower field strength, which generally means a longer scan or a slightly less detailed image. For many joint and spine questions that is perfectly adequate. For fine detail in the brain, small joints or the prostate, it may not be.

Can I be sedated for an MRI? Some private centres offer oral sedation and some do not. If it is offered you will normally need someone to take you home and stay with you, and you should not drive for the rest of the day. Ask about it when you book, because it changes the appointment length and often the price.

Will my head go in the scanner for a knee MRI? For a knee, ankle or foot scan you usually go in feet first and your head may stay outside the bore entirely. Ask the clinic which way round you will be positioned for your particular scan, because for many lower-limb and lower-spine studies it makes the whole question disappear.

How long will I be inside? A single-region MRI typically takes 15 to 45 minutes, made up of several sequences of a few minutes each. You are not in continuously without a break, and the radiographer speaks to you between sequences. Knowing the structure of it helps more than most people expect.

Can someone stay in the room with me? Often yes, provided that person also completes the safety screening and has no implants or metal of their own that would be a problem. Ask when you book. Having a hand to hold is one of the most effective and least expensive things on this list.

If you want to see which nearby centres have wide-bore, open or upright machines, start with an MRI search by location and ring the shortlist before you book.