A simple blood test is changing how emergency medicine operates.

When Francine Bomar fell and hit her head, she feared a long ER wait and a CT scan—but instead, she became one of the first patients at Michigan Medicine to benefit from a groundbreaking new blood test for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Introduced in December 2024 and developed by Dr. Fred Korley and his team, the test rapidly detects two brain-specific proteins, providing results in 15 minutes and reducing the need for CT scans. In just a few months, it has already helped avoid 95 unnecessary CTs. With strong clinical support and funding from the Department of Defense, researchers are now developing a handheld version, aiming to make personalized, efficient brain injury care accessible everywhere.

Michigan Medicine was abuzz April 9 as the Department of Emergency Medicine hosted its 10th Annual William G. Barsan Emergency Medicine Research Forum — a celebration of innovation, research, and teamwork.

2025 Emergency Medicine Department Intern Class of 2025

Taylor Krupp, a Michigan Medicine Emergency Department nurse, has helped save countless lives in the emergency room, but he never imagined he’d have to use his skills on a family member when a game of pickleball became a life-or-death situation.

In this episode of Well-Being at Michigan Medicine, Chief Well-Being Officer Elizabeth Harry, M.D., welcomes Chief Transformation Officer Amy Cohn, Ph.D., to discuss complex health care issues, operations research, provider well-being and staff scheduling. A significant part of the conversation touches on operational improvements, including a key example of improving a call system at Michigan Medicine. Cohn’s team identified that excessive messages from a centralized call center were frustrating providers. Through collaboration with staff, they discovered that while many providers wanted these messages reduced, others found them valuable. The solution was to switch from a push to a pull system, where providers could access important information when they needed it, reducing interruptions while still enhancing communication. In the interview, Cohn and Harry discuss a holistic approach to problem solving, emphasizing collaboration, respect and ensuring that staff can perform their roles effectively and with a sense of agency.