Healthy brain tissue can be damaged or made ischemic by retractors during neurosurgery. Our research focuses on developing a tool that will alert surgeons of conditions that could cause these issues. To do this, we have employed optical sensors that transmit light into tissue and quantify the amount reflected light. This study focuses on the feasibility of measuring force applied to a tissue using optical signals. Using machine learning, we have been able to predict the force applied on the optical sensor by a finger. Future work will focus on developing an algorithm using porcine brain data.