Patent ID: 7551954

Claim:
A magnetic resonance imaging system comprising: a magnetic resonance imager; magnetic resonance apparatus having a structure including opposed elements defining a patient-receiving gap therebetween and arranged to provide a magnetic field in the gap along a horizontal field axis; a patient support having a top surface for supporting a patient's body and a bottom surface, said patient support movable relative to said structure through a range of support positions, the patient support including a pair of longitudinal edges extending between said top and bottom surfaces in a longitudinal direction transverse to the horizontal field axis so as to define a patient support surface that includes a lateral dimension less than the dimension of the gap and parallel to the horizontal field axis, the patient support further including one or more continuous tracks on said top surface and extending along the patient support parallel to the longitudinal direction, said one or more continuous tracks being positioned entirely between said longitudinal edges; a fixture-positioning apparatus constructed and arranged to move within said one or more continuous tracks; and a fixture usable in conjunction with said magnetic resonance apparatus, said fixture-positioning apparatus being operative to secure the fixture to the patient support and to permit adjustment of the position of the fixture relative to the patient support over a range of fixture positions, said range of fixture positions being limited so that for any position of said fixture within said range of fixture positions, said fixture will remain clear of said opposed elements during movement of said patient support through said range of support positions, wherein said range of support positions includes a range of movement in the longitudinal direction of said patient support, and wherein said range of fixture positions includes a lateral range of positions in a lateral direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.