An indentation probe is used to find the rigidity of the cartilage behind the kneecap. This measurement is taken to determine the necessity of knee surgery. The electronics of the probe take the shear applied to a load cell and convert this to a numerical reading on a digital display to be read by the doctor. A strain gage is the transducer used to convert the shear to an electrical signal. This signal is then amplified by an instrumentation amplifier to be fed to a microcontroller after A/D conversion. A microcontroller is used for both scaling of data and storage of multiple readings for the doctor using the instrument.
 

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