An apparatus for measuring thickness of an object is provided. The apparatus includes a compression control system which further includes a movable platform, a compression sensor, and a switching device operatively coupled to the compression sensor. The apparatus also includes a measurement system operatively coupled to the switching device for receiving a signal representative of a toggle event at the switching device and configured to measure a gradient. The apparatus also includes a processing circuit operatively coupled to the switching device and the measurement system for measuring a thickness of the object upon receiving the signal representative of the toggle event at the switching device by using the gradient and a communication circuit for transmitting a measured thickness of the object to a remote database.