A system for tracking a bone-altering tool in computer-assisted surgery, comprising a first trackable reference secured to a first bone, with a first frame of reference being associated with the first trackable reference. A bone-altering tool is securable to the first bone in a secured configuration. Sensors track the trackable reference for position and orientation. A position/orientation calculator is connected to the sensor device to calculate a position and orientation of the first frame of reference. An alteration parameter calculator is associated with the position/orientation calculator to determine a position and orientation of the bone-altering tool in the secured configuration as a function of the position and orientation of the first frame of reference and of the secured configuration. A method for tracking tools using the tracking of a bone is provided.
