Measuring and correcting for eddy currents in a magnetic imaging system includes running a pulse sequence using bipolar gradients to acquire a phase-difference image and a phase response of a static phantom that fills a majority of a field of view (FOV) of the magnetic imaging system, fitting the phase difference image to a two-dimensional second order polynomial, and changing the pulse sequence to provide a different delay. The method further includes iterating the running a pulse sequence and fitting the phase difference image and phase response with different delays to determine coefficients of the second order polynomial and a time constant of the phase response. The method also includes correcting a pre-emphasis system of the magnetic imaging system in accordance with the time constant of the phase response, determining an amplitude of correction to reduce the determined coefficients, and storing the determined corrections in the pre-emphasis system.