Abstract
A fiber sensor based on a Fabry-Perot cavity is reported for measuring mixtures of water and glycerin. The sensor is fabricated by producing an air bubble near the end face of a multimode fiber section, and reshaping the tip in order to produce a thin silica diaphragm. It is observed that there is dependence between diaphragm dimensions and the structure sensitivity. The sensor with a 20 mu m thick diaphragm presents a sensitivity of 7.81 pm/wt.% regarding the variation of water mass fraction in glycerin. With this sensing head, an experimental resolution of 2.5 wt.% is estimated. By converting the mass fraction into refractive index variations, a maximum sensitivity of 5.49 nm/RIU is obtained. Moreover, given the low-temperature sensitivity (1.6 pm/degrees C), the proposed cavity should be adequate to perform temperature independent measurements. The purity degree of glycerin is one of the most important parameters to be determined in applications such as in pharmaceutical or cosmetic area. The proposed sensor can be an alternative to the previously developed ones.

Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in the world and its occurrence is closely related to arterial stiffness. Arterial stiffness is commonly evaluated by analysing the arterial pulse waveform and velocity, with electromechanical pressure transducers, in superficial arteries such as carotid, radial and femoral. In order to ease the acquisition procedure and increase the patients comfort during the measurements, new optical fibre techniques have been explored to be used in the reliable detection of arterial pulse waves, due to their small size, high sensitivity, electrical isolation and immunity to electromagnetic interference. More specifically, fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) are refractive index modulated structures engraved in the core of an optical fibre, which have a well-defined resonance wavelength that varies with the strain conditions of the medium, known as Bragg wavelength. In this work, FBGs were embedded in a commercial resin, producing films that were used to assess the arterial pulse in superficial locations such as carotid, radial and foot dorsum. The technique proved to be a promising, comfortable and trustworthy way to assess the arterial pulses, with all the optical fibre use advantages, in a non-intrusive biomedical sensing procedure. Examples of possible applications of the developed structures are smart skin structures to monitor arterial cardiovascular parameters, in a stable and reliable way, throughout daily activities or even during exams with high electromagnetic fields, such as magnetic resonance imaging.

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