The authors propose a new approach to measuring persistent currents in normal metal rings. By integrating micron-scale metal rings into sensitive micromechanical cantilevers and using the cantilevers as torque magnetometers, it should be possible to measure the rings' persistent currents with greater sensitivity than the superconducting quantum interference device based and microwave resonator-based detectors used in the past. In addition, cantilever-based detectors may allow for measurements in a cleaner electromagnetic environment. The authors have fabricated ultrasensitive cantilevers with integrated rings and measured their mechanical properties. The authors present an estimate of the persistent current sensitivity of these cantilever-based detectors, focusing on the limits set by the cantilever's Brownian motion and the shot noise in the laser interferometer that monitors the cantilever. (C) 2008 American Vacuum Society.