A motion compensation system for tracking and compensating for patient motion during a medical imaging scan, the motion compensation system comprising: an optical marker comprising an optically visible pattern and a mounting portion, the mounting portion configured to affix the optical marker to an object being tracked, the optically visible pattern comprising a plurality of reference point locators, each reference point locator configured to define a single reference point of a reference shape, each reference point locator comprising alternating dark and light elliptical shapes centered on the single referent point and configured to be visible as a circular pattern from a 45 degree viewing angle; a first optical detector positioned to digitally image the optically visible pattern along a first line of sight, the first optical detector configured to generate a first digital image of the optically visible pattern; a second optical detector positioned to digitally image the optically visible pattern along a second line of sight, the second optical detector configured to generate a second digital image of the optically visible pattern, wherein when the detectors are viewing the optical marker along a 45 degree sight line, images of the optical marker at the nominal home location illustrate the reference point locators as circles; a tracking engine configured to determine a pose of the object in six degrees of freedom by analyzing the first and second images; and a controller interface configured to generate tracking information based on the pose and to electronically transmit the tracking information to a scanner controller to enable compensation within a medical imaging scanner for object motion; wherein the tracking engine and controller interface comprise a computer processor and an electronic storage medium. an optical marker comprising an optically visible pattern and a mounting portion, the mounting portion configured to affix the optical marker to an object being tracked, the optically visible pattern comprising a plurality of reference point locators, each reference point locator configured to define a single reference point of a reference shape, the mounting portion configured to affix the optical marker to an object being tracked, the optically visible pattern comprising a plurality of reference point locators, each reference point locator configured to define a single reference point of a reference shape, each reference point locator comprising alternating dark and light elliptical shapes centered on the single referent point and configured to be visible as a circular pattern from a 45 degree viewing angle; a first optical detector positioned to digitally image the optically visible pattern along a first line of sight, the first optical detector configured to generate a first digital image of the optically visible pattern; a second optical detector positioned to digitally image the optically visible pattern along a second line of sight, the second optical detector configured to generate a second digital image of the optically visible pattern, wherein when the detectors are viewing the optical marker along a 45 degree sight line, images of the optical marker at the nominal home location illustrate the reference point locators as circles; a tracking engine configured to determine a pose of the object in six degrees of freedom by analyzing the first and second images; and a controller interface configured to generate tracking information based on the pose and to electronically transmit the tracking information to a scanner controller to enable compensation within a medical imaging scanner for object motion; wherein the tracking engine and controller interface comprise a computer processor and an electronic storage medium.