System and method for medical object tracking

A method for tracking radio frequency (RF) beacons associated with a surgery, the method comprising:

• transmitting, by an RF transceiver, an RF signal at an initial frequency;
• frequency shifting, by a first RF beacon, the RF signal from the initial frequency to a first responsive frequency;
• emitting, by the first RF beacon, a first responsive RF signal at the first responsive frequency;
• frequency shifting, by a second RF beacon, the RF signal from the initial frequency to a second responsive frequency, wherein the second responsive frequency is different from the first responsive frequency;
• emitting, by the second RF beacon, a second responsive RF signal at the second responsive frequency;
• receiving, by the RF transceiver, the first responsive RF signal at the first responsive frequency and the second responsive RF signal at the second responsive frequency;
• determining, by a control device, a distance between the RF transceiver and the first RF beacon based on the first responsive RF signal at the first responsive frequency;
• and
• determining, by the control device, a distance between the RF transceiver and the second RF beacon based on the second responsive RF signal at the second responsive frequency.

A system for tracking radio frequency (RF) beacons associated with a surgery, the system comprising:

• a first RF beacon attached to a first medical object;
• a second RF beacon attached to a second medical object;
• a plurality of RF transceivers configured for triangulation of the first RF beacon and the second RF beacon, wherein each of the plurality of RF transceivers is configured to transmit an initial respective RF signal at an initial respective RF frequency that is unique among the plurality of RF transceivers;
• wherein the first RF beacon is configured to emit a plurality of first responsive signals at a plurality of first responsive frequencies that are each determined by frequency shifting each initial respective RF signal by a first predetermined amount;
• wherein the second RF beacon is configured to emit a plurality of second responsive signals at a plurality of second responsive frequencies that are each determined by frequency shifting each initial respective RF signal by a second predetermined amount;
• wherein the first predetermined amount is different than the second predetermined amount;
• and
• a control device that is communicatively connected to the plurality of RF transceivers, wherein the control device is configured to determine a location of first RF beacon in a three-dimensional space based on the plurality of first responsive signals, and to determine a location of second RF beacon in the three-dimensional space based on the plurality of second responsive RF signals.