Abstract: An apparatus and a method to permit virtually any magnetic resonance imaging system to image slices of any orientation by converting its three-channel gradient current demand--a set of three time-varying voltages proportional to the instantaneous currents required in the x, y and z gradient coils--into that required for imaging the chosen plane or volume are provided. The method, which is referred to as axis translation, involves taking the input readout, phase-encoding and slice-selecting gradients from the system's host computer and rotating the orientation of these gradients through angles set by the system operator. This is accomplished using a 3.times.3 analogue matrix which outputs the appropriate imaging demand vector which is thereafter interpreted as current demand in the X, Y and Z coils of the magnetic resonance imaging system in the conventional manner.