A method comprises identifying linked anatomical structures in stored images of a patient anatomy and modeling a structure of linkage elements. Each linkage element corresponds to one of the linked anatomical structures. The method also includes modeling a portion of the patient anatomy as a plurality of search slabs and assigning each of the linkage elements to one of the plurality of search slabs. The method also includes receiving tracking data corresponding to a sensed instrument portion. The tracking data includes position information and orientation information for the sensed instrument portion. The method also includes identifying one of the plurality of search slabs which includes the position information for the sensed instrument portion and matching the sensed instrument portion to a matched linkage element from among the linkage elements assigned to the identified one of the plurality of search slabs.
