Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system includes an asymmetrical magnet to generate an asymmetrical stray field that is particularly well suited to imaging limbs. In some other embodiments, a MRI system includes a conically-shaped casing that allows a patient to more readily access a field-of-view (FOV) in the interior of the MRI system during imaging of limbs. In some embodiments, a MRI system includes a stepped inner bore that has a stepped shape that focuses the FOV in an inner bore of the MRI system on a smaller area that is closer to where a patient accesses the FOV in the MRI that is particularly well suited to imaging a limb in the FOV.