A method for generating an image of an object with a magnetic resonance imaging (MM) system is presented. The method includes first performing a calibration scan of the object. The calibration scan is performed with a zero echo time (ZTE) radial sampling scheme to obtain calibration k-spaces for surface coil elements and a body coil of the MRI system. The calibration scan is performed in such a manner that the endpoints of calibration k-space lines in each calibration k-space follow a spiral path. A plurality of calibration parameters are then obtained from the plurality of calibration k-spaces. A second scan of the object is then performed to acquire the MR image data. The image of the object is then generated based on the plurality of calibration parameters and the MR image data.