A tracking system that includes a sensor and emitter is calibrated, and a tracked position and orientation of a surgical instrument is determined based at least in part on tracking information emitted by the emitter and detected by the sensor. An ultrasound system performs an ultrasound scan to acquire ultrasound scan data including the surgical instrument. The ultrasound system determines a scanned position and orientation of the surgical instrument based on the ultrasound scan data. The ultrasound system compares the tracked position and orientation with the scanned position and orientation to determine a calibration error. If the calibration error exceeds a threshold, the ultrasound system may (1) prompt a user to repeat the tracking system calibration step, (2) automatically recalibrate the tracking system and/or the ultrasound system, or (3) provide a user option for proceeding with automatic recalibration of the tracking system and/or the ultrasound system.
