The psychotricorder was a Starfleet tricorder specifically programmed for a psychologist's use in analyzing a patient. This version of the tricorder scans specific brainwave patterns during questioning of the patient, and is helpful in diagnosis and treatment of mental ailments and disorders. It may possess a hypnosis-assist subroutine, as well as subroutines for lie-detection and amnesia analysis. The device is normally operated by an assistant technician while the attending psychologist directs the patient.
A psychotricorder and medical technician were once requisitioned by Kirk and McCoy to help analyze the apparently amnesic Scotty, when he became a suspect in several murders on Argelius II. The technician who was to operate the device, Lieutenant Karen Tracy, would be killed by Scotty – possessed by Redjac – before she could complete the scans. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold").