The invention relates to a method for compensating patient movements in MRI scans in real time and to a device suitable for carrying out said method. The method involves the following steps: optically sensing a marking element (5) connected to a patient (3) by means of an image sensor module (7) of an MRI-compatible camera (2) which is positioned inside an MRI device; transferring the image data detected by the image sensor module (7) to a micro-controller module (11) which is integrated in the MRI-compatible camera (2); calculating position data of the marking element (5) in the micro-controller module (11); and transmitting the position data to an external analyzing unit or to the MRI device in real time.