Abstract: A mechanism for transporting a patient to a magnetic resonance unit. A coil seat is mounted on the upper surface of a lower bed and the lower bed is mounted for movement relative to a magnet. An upper bed is mounted for movement on the lower bed. In the positioning stage, the coil is located outside of the magnet and the upper bed carrying a patient is moved relative to the lower bed to position the patient in registry with the coil, such that a desired anatomical area is brought into the imaging area of the coil. This is followed by pushing the upper and lower beds as a unit into the bore of the magnet. As various coils can be positioned on the lower bed at a common positioning location, it is possible to employ a common electric connection to eliminate the need for separately attachable cables.