A layered sensor structure of metal-free phthalocyanine H2Pc (~160 nm) with a very thin film of palladium (Pd ~20 nm) on the top, has been studied for hydrogen gas-sensing application at relatively low temperatures of about 30°C and about 40°C. The layered structure was obtained by vacuum deposition (first the phthalocyanine Pc and than the Pd film) onto a LiNbO3Y- cut Z-propagating substrate, making use of the Surface Acoustic Wave method, and additionally (in this same technological processes) onto a glass substrate with a planar microelectrode array for simultaneous monitoring of the planar resistance of the layered structure. In such a layered structure we can detect hydrogen in a medium concentration range (from 0.5 to 3% in air) even at about 30°C. At elevated temperature up to about 40°C the differential frequency increases proportionally (almost linearly) to the hydrogen concentration and the response reaches its steady state very quickly. The response times are about 18 s at the lowest 0.5% hydrogen concentration to about 42 s at 4% (defined as reaching 100% of the steady state). In the case of the investigated layered structure a very good correlation has been observed between the two utilized methods - the frequency changes in the SAW method correlate quite well with the decreases of the layered structure resistance.

In recent years organic semiconductors have been given attention in the field of active materials for gas sensor applications. In the paper the investigations of the optoelectronic sensor structure of ammonia were presented. The sensor head consists of polyaniline and Nafion layers deposited on the face of the telecommunication optical fiber. The elaborated sensor structure in the form of Fabry-Perot interferometer is of the extremely small dimension – its thickness is of the order of 1 um. Many sensor structures of diffierent combinations of the polyaniline and Nafion layers were constructed and investigated. The optimal solution seems to be the structures with small number of polianiline layers (up to three).

The paper presents a research concerning the issue of visualization of blood vessels in the human body. In the initial phase of the investigations the focus was on understanding the optical properties of human body tissues. Optical transmittance of human skin was measured. Skin transmittance reaches the maximum at around 670–850 nm and 970–1100 nm. The optimal wavelength suitable for work in reflected and transmitted light was chosen. It was based on extracting blood vessels from the image for using them further in a developed system. A unique measuring system with an integrated illuminator and highly sensitive light detectors for medical imaging and stereoscopic observation was created. The high usable value of the developed system was largely gained by the original numerical program for development of measurement results. The elaborated system of blood vessels’ visualization is a mobile device. It was tested for imaging subcutaneous blood vessels. Three-dimensional observation of circulation and microcirculation in subcutaneous breast tissues is possible. Practical tests of the elaborated device for blood vessels’ medical stereoscopic observations were presented. Tests at a wavelength of 850 nm were performed. It is planned to conduct patient tests in the future at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center (MSCI), the Branch in Gliwice, Poland.