A surgical suturing tracking system configured for use with a suturing needle is disclosed. The surgical suturing tracking system comprises a spectral light emitter, a waveform sensor, and a control circuit coupled to the waveform sensor. The control circuit is configured to cause the spectral light emitter to emit spectral light waves toward a suturing needle and a tissue structure, receive an input corresponding to the spectral light waves reflected by the needle and the tissue structure and determine a distance between the needle and the tissue structure based on the received input.