diff --git a/actuator/rust/src/lib.rs b/actuator/rust/src/lib.rs
index ce63a23..e029acf 100644
--- a/actuator/rust/src/lib.rs
+++ b/actuator/rust/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 use pyo3::prelude::*;
 use pyo3_stub_gen::{define_stub_info_gatherer, derive::gen_stub_pyclass};
-use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::sync::Arc;
 use tokio::runtime::Runtime;
 use tokio::time::{interval, Duration};
+use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 
 #[pyclass]
@@ -22,24 +23,24 @@ impl Actuator {
 
         let runtime_clone = Arc::clone(&runtime);
         let running_clone = Arc::clone(&running);
-        std::thread::spawn(move || {
-            if let Some(rt) = runtime_clone.lock().unwrap().as_ref() {
-                rt.block_on(async {
-                    let mut interval = interval(Duration::from_secs(1));
-                    while running_clone.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
-                        interval.tick().await;
-                        println!("Hello, world!");
-                    }
-                });
-            }
-        });
+
+        // Use the runtime to spawn the background task
+        if let Some(rt) = runtime_clone.try_lock().unwrap().as_ref() {
+            rt.spawn(async move {
+                let mut interval = interval(Duration::from_secs(1));
+                while running_clone.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                    interval.tick().await;
+                    println!("Hello, world!");
+                }
+            });
+        }
 
         Ok(Actuator { runtime, running })
     }
 
     fn stop(&mut self) -> PyResult<()> {
         self.running.store(false, Ordering::Relaxed);
-        if let Some(runtime) = self.runtime.lock().unwrap().take() {
+        if let Some(runtime) = self.runtime.try_lock().unwrap().take() {
             runtime.shutdown_background();
         }
         Ok(())