Abstract: A motor drive for an X-ray examination apparatus, in particular for the displacement of an auxiliary apparatus (imaging section). The motor has coupled thereto a tachometer, the output signal of which is differentiated and fed back to the motor control system such that a positive loop gain < 1 arises. The drive system delivers a torque which is proportional to the force delivered by the operator when a linear relationship exists between the control quantity of the motor and the torque thereof. In the case of a collision with the patient, the force exerted by the imaging section on the patient substantially does not exceed the manual force exerted by the operator, not even if the motor force amounts to a multiple of the force delivered by the operator.