OpenPSD

OpenPSD is an open-source, handheld pressure-sensing device, developed with the Otterburn Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine. The team reverse engineered a discontinued medical device used to measure sensory recovery after breast reconstruction, producing a more accessible, clinician-centred tool for evaluating nerve sensation.

The device has a streamlined unibody with a contoured grip, a thin brass-wire probe at the tip that the clinician presses against the skin, and portable embedded hardware inside the body that measures the applied pressure. The one-piece pink enclosure was most likely 3D printed.

Reverse engineering a discontinued instrument usually means measuring the original's behaviour, then rebuilding it with off-the-shelf sensors and a custom enclosure; making it open source means other clinics and researchers can build and adapt their own.

Tip: for a handheld clinical tool, iterate the grip with quick test prints in the clinician's hand before finalising the electronics layout inside.

Partner: Weill Cornell Medicine