A system and method for adjusting the height of a portion of a patient support table to accommodate various types of patients is disclosed. The patient support table includes a center section that is movable relative to first and second sections located on opposite sides of the center section. A lift mechanism is mounted to the support table to raise and lower the center section relative to the stationary first and second sections. When the center section is in its fully raised position, the patient support platform can be moved into and out of the medical scanning device by a platform drive mechanism. The lift mechanism is contained within the patient support table. The platform drive mechanism can be mounted either on the patient support table or on the medical scanning device, depending upon whether the patient support table is stationary or movable.
