Abstract: A method for determining nuclear magnetic resonance longitudinal relaxation time of a medium. The method includes magnetically polarizing nuclei in the medium along a static magnetic field, momentarily inverting the magnetic polarization of the nuclei within each one of a plurality of different spatial volumes within the medium, transversely magnetizing the nuclei in each one of the spatial volumes after an individual recovery time corresponding to each one of the spatial volumes, and measuring an amplitude of a magnetic resonance signal from each one of the spatial volumes.