An improved imaging technique and apparatus for direct temporal encoding of spatial information of an object is presented. The signal collected from the object after application of excitation energy in a magnetic field is directly representative of the spatial position of the object without the need for the signal to undergo mathematical transformation. This is a result of the excitation scheme that generates transverse magnetization across the field of view that is a function of X (read-out) and Z (slice select) positions, resulting in a two-dimensional phase profile that, upon application of a constant gradient along the Z axis, elicits a signal that is directly attributable to the spatial position along the read-out dimension without application of mathematical transformation.