Sensory artificial cilia for in situ monitoring of airway physiological properties

A method of monitoring an airway of a subject, comprising:

• applying an external magnetic field to an artificial cilium implanted within the airway of the subject, wherein the artificial cilium comprises a layer thickness sensor configured to tilt in response to the external magnetic field;
• measuring a capacitance using the layer thickness sensor;
• and
• calculating a thickness of a fluid in the airway of the subject based at least in part on the capacitance.

A system, comprising:

• an implant, comprising:
• a tubular member having a radially external side and a radially internal side;
• a viscosity sensor configured to measure a viscosity of a fluid in an airway of a subject in response to a bending motion of the viscosity sensor;
• and
• a layer thickness sensor configured to measure a thickness of the fluid within the airway of the subject in response to a tilting motion of the layer thickness sensor,
• wherein the layer thickness sensor is configured to engage in the tilting motion, the viscosity sensor is configured to engage in the bending motion, or both in response to an application of an external magnetic field;
• a magnetic actuator, comprising:
• a magnet coupled to a slider crank mechanism;
• and
• at least one motor configured to actuate the slider crank mechanism and the magnet;
• a computing device in wireless communication with the implant and the magnetic actuation device, comprising a processor and a memory;
• and
• machine-readable instructions stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least:
• activate the magnetic actuation device to tilt the layer thickness sensor based at least in part on a first external magnetic field;
• calculate, using the layer thickness sensor, the thickness of the fluid within the airway of the subject based at least in part on the application of the first external magnetic field;
• activate the magnetic actuation device to bend the viscosity sensor based at least in part on a second external magnetic field;
• and
• calculate, using the viscosity sensor, the viscosity of the fluid within the airway of the subject based at least in part on the application of the second external magnetic field.