1. A method for tracking a data object in a plurality of consecutive images by evaluating a first image and a sequential second image comprising the steps: a) constructing a plurality of template candidate regions (L 1 , L 2 ,. .. Lk) from landmark locations; b) for each of the plurality of template candidate regions, deriving an optimally sized template (L 1 , S 1 ), (L 2 , S 2 ),. .. (Lk, Sk) using a performance model; c) estimating warp parameters (W 1 , W 2 ,. .. Wk) that minimize a measure of distance between a warped template of optimal size and a candidate region in the second image; d) identifying second landmarks in the second image by using the estimated warp parameters; e) assigning the second image as the first image and assigning a third image sequential to the second image as the second image; f) selecting landmark locations in the first image; and g) repeating steps a) to f) until all sequential images have been evaluated.