A horizontal cantilever beam with an attachment pad and a well is used to measure cell traction forces as cells are seeded onto substrates and crawl over the cantilevers. These cantilevers are set to measure force through cantilever deflection, stiffness, and stress gradient. Unlike the prior method, the uncertainty of no propagation is not an issue. Rather the cantilever beam can only move in only one direction leading to only one axis being measured.
