I'm curious how I'd measure the deflection pressure on a series of physical probes. I'm thinking I have a linear actuator of some sort, pressing against a surface on the human body, and I want to know how much resistance it encounters and how deep it penetrates under a given amount of pressure.

What I have in mind is to differentiate between regions where skin covers what is essentially bone or cartilage, as opposed to soft tissue. I'm also thinking in terms of a 2 mm diameter probe, so it mustn't apply too much pressure.

What I would hope to extract from such a measurement is depth of penetration at a specific pressure, and required pressure to a predefined depth. The two must be related in some way that can be measured electronically ... I'd guess. What sort of gadget would do this such that one could apply, say, a predefined current and feed back a deflection.

RE