Vanderbilt researchers led by Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, have developed a novel device that can be used remotely to continuously monitor the airway stents of patients with diseases like lung cancer.
The research was published in Science Advances on April 15th with Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student Yusheng Wang as the first author and co-authors from Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Texas A&M University.
Continuous wireless and minimally invasive monitoring of deep airway physiological properties outside the hospital is critical for enabling early detection of complications, reducing reliance on invasive bronchoscopies, and improving patient outcomes, researchers say. Airway diseases such as lung cancer and cystic fibrosis often progress silently, and real-time monitoring of tissue stiffness, pressure, mucus accumulation, or temperature can reveal issues before they become life threatening.
Traditional methods using bronchoscopy or catheters typically require anesthesia, carry procedural risks, and do not provide longitudinal surveillance in daily life. To address these challenges, Dong and his team have created a device with multiple sensors and a magnetically controlled switch that can monitor a patient’s airway remotely.
“This chip-free and battery-free framework enables continuous, noninvasive, and early detection of complications, reducing the need for frequent bronchoscopies and improving patient outcomes,” said Dong, who is also assistant professor of biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering. “Such a system also provides clinicians with longitudinal data to guide timely interventions and optimize treatment.”
The project is a collaboration between Dong and Fabien Maldonado, professor of Medicine, Thoracic Surgery and Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University; and Caitlin Demarest, assistant professor of Thoracic Surgery in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine; and Yuxiao Zhou, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M.
“Our in vitro study demonstrates the strong biocompatibility of the airway stent, highlighting its promise for in vivo applications, an area we are actively advancing,” Zhou said. “These findings underscore its great potential for future clinical translation.”
Both Maldonado and Demarest said the technology is game-changing.
“This technology could transform the way we follow patients and could substantially improve their quality of life,” Maldonado said.
Added Demarest, “as a thoracic and lung transplant surgeon, I see firsthand how limited we are by intermittent, invasive monitoring of airway stents. This technology offers a transformative shift; enabling continuous, remote assessment of airway physiology so we can detect complications earlier and intervene before they become clinically significant.”
Last year, Dong was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to support research on magnetic miniature soft robots for precision medicine that could facilitate early disease detection and treatment.
In 2024, he received an R21 Trailblazer Award by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to pursue a project about “Wirelessly Actuated Ciliary Stent for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Cilia Dysfunction.”