Magnetic material imaging (MMI) system including a first array of elongated wire segments that extend substantially parallel to an imaging plane. The imaging plane is configured to extend through a region-of-interest (ROI) of an object. The MMI system also includes a second array of elongated wire segments that extend substantially parallel to the imaging plane. The first and second arrays of wire segments are spaced apart with the imaging plane therebetween. The first and second arrays of wire segments form segment pairs. Each segment pair includes a wire segment of the first array and a wire segment of the second array, wherein the wire segments substantially coincide along a segment plane. The MMI system also includes a phase-control module configured to control a flow of current through the wire segments of the segment pairs to generate and move a one-dimensional field free region (1D FFR) within the imaging plane.