Multiple bone tracking

A method for monitoring position and movement of vertebrae using an image guided surgical system, comprising the steps of:

• attaching a rigidly connected multiple-point anchor assembly to at least two vertebrae located within a frame of reference of the image guided surgical system, thereby immobilizing the vertebrae relative to one another, the multiple-point anchor assembly being trackable and adapted to be located in three dimensional space by the image guided surgical system;
• and
• performing a registration of the at least two immobilized vertebrae, the immobilized vertebrae being tracked together permitting at least one of facilitated and improved registration.

Use of a multiple-bone clamp with a common tracker in image guided surgery, comprising:

• attaching the rigidly connected multiple-bone clamp having a common tracker member to at least two inter-dependently mobile bone elements located within a frame of reference of an image guided surgery system, thereby immobilizing the vertebrae relative to one another;
• and
• tracking the multiple-point anchor assembly with the image guided surgery system such that the multiple-point anchor assembly is continuously located in three dimensional space.