Method and system for automatic needle recalibration detection

A system, comprising:

• an ultrasound device comprising:
• a processor operable to:
• determine a position and orientation of a surgical instrument based on tracking information emitted by an emitter of a tracking system and detected by a sensor of the tracking system, the sensor and the emitter being attached to or within a probe of the ultrasound device and the surgical instrument, respectively,
• determine a scanned position and orientation of the surgical instrument based on ultrasound scan data acquired by a probe, and
• compare the tracked position and orientation of the surgical instrument with the scanned position and orientation of the surgical instrument to determine a calibration error;
• and
• adjust at least one of the tracked position and orientation of the surgical instrument and the scanned position and orientation of the surgical instrument based on the calibration error.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section, the at least one code section being executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform steps comprising:

• calibrating a tracking system comprising a sensor and an emitter, the sensor and the emitter being attached to or within a probe of an ultrasound system and a surgical instrument, respectively;
• determining a tracked position and orientation of the surgical instrument based at least in part on tracking information emitted by the emitter of the tracking system and detected by the sensor of the tracking system;
• performing an ultrasound scan to acquire ultrasound scan data;
• determining a scanned position and orientation of the surgical instrument based on the ultrasound scan data;
• and
• comparing the tracked position and orientation of the surgical instrument with the scanned position and orientation of the surgical instrument to determine a calibration error.