Systems and methods are disclosed in which changes in the position and/or orientation of an anatomical structure or of a surgical tool can be measured quantitatively during surgery. In some embodiments, a surgical electronic module can be configured to attach to a surgical device, to continually detect changes in a position and/or orientation of the surgical device during surgery, and to communicate the changes to a user. In this way, where the surgical device is attached to a portion of a patients anatomy and/or is used to manipulate the patients anatomy, the surgical electronic module can detect changes in the position and/or orientation of said anatomy. In embodiments where more than one module is used during surgery, the modules can continually detect changes in their positions and/or orientations relative to one another, which correspond to changes in relative positions and/or orientations of the surgical devices to which the modules are attached.
