AN INTERVIEW WITH: A. STEWART FERGUSON, PH.D.
Acting Project Director Chief Technology
Officer
Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network
The following interview took place in February, 2000.
Assistant Editor & Roving Reporter
TelehealthNews Bob
Pyke, Jr. RN, CPNP
1) Brief introduction about you, your back ground and how
you came to the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network
I have attached my c.v. to this document in case you want a more
complete background. Essentially, I began working in Biomedical
Engineering in graduate school because of my intense interest in
using my engineering skills in a medical setting. Between graduate
school, my post-doctorate work, and my research associate positions,
I worked in this field for almost 13 years. The latter part of that
involved working in MCG (magnetocardiography), which is a fascinating
field whereby cardiac activity is measured and interpreted by
measuring the magnetic field generated by the heart.
My wife and I moved to American Samoa for 2 � years, at which
time I started a business devoted to a wide range of computer network
and telecommunications issues, including the development of
databases, network installations, training, etc. During this time, we
began to recognize first-hand that telemedicine could have a
significant effect in these distant locations. American Samoa is
2,500 miles south of Hawaii, and receives 2 planes per week from
Hawaii. Telemedicine would help to bridge the gap both in terms of
distance but also in terms of time between connecting flights when
patient health is at risk.
We then moved to Alaska, where I pursued a position in a
telemedicine project funded by the National Library of Medicine
(NLM). I was hired as the Chief Information Officer for that project,
and my duties included designing the hardware and software systems
for that project, reviewing and evaluating all hardware and software
options, installation and support of equipment, etc.
The AFHCAN project was founded on much of the success of the NLM
project, and I moved into the same position (CIO) within the AFHCAN
project after the NLM project was finished. I am now the Associate
Director and also Director of Technology for the AFHCAN project, and
work with the technology group in the project to develop the broad
range of technologies specific to AFHCAN.
2) What is the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network?
AFHCAN is a project of the Alaska Federal Health Care Partnership
(AFHCP), a voluntary network of Alaska Federal health care providers
consisting of the Indian Health Service, the Department of Defense,
Department of Veteran's Affairs, and the U.S. Coast Guard. AFHCP was
founded in 1996 to create efficiencies among Federal agencies
providing health care in Alaska. The Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium (ANTHC) currently manages AFHCAN.
3) How long as it been in existence, what is it goals and
objectives?
The original proposal submitted to the U.S. Congress in 1998 to
establish the AFHCAN Project proposed to extend and improve access to
health care service and health information for Alaska's 200,000
federal beneficiaries through the adoption of a state wide telehealth
system. The proposal focused on providing telehealth solutions at all
IHS hospitals, health centers, and community health aide clinics, and
U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Veteran Affairs, Department of
Defense, and Department of Public Health Nursing facilities in the
state. These solutions were based on the use of store and forward
imaging, interactive video conferencing, and telehealth kiosks as
mechanisms to improve health care and health care education. More
recently, the scope of the project has broadened to include the
development of a state wide telehealth network, and support for the
Phase III teleradiology plan.
The mission of the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network is
"to improve access to health care for federal beneficiaries in
Alaska through sustainable telehealth systems".
The vision is "235 federal and state health care sites in
Alaska linked in a telehealth network." We will:
Create
"needs based" solutions
Build flexible and scaleable
systems
Build on existing capabilities
Utilize open
architecture
Utilize "Off the Shelf," proven technology
where possible
Ensure sustainability
Evaluate our
solutions
Coordinate our efforts with all telehealth projects in
Alaska
The project began receiving funds in FY99 (October 1st, 1998), and
just began the second year (FY00).
4) How is it going so far and what role is Telehealth play
in it?
This project is surprisingly complicated, partly because of the
technologies and communication hurdles that have to be overcome, but
because of the many varied partners involved in this project. The 235
project sites encompass 37 distinct member organizations: 1 site is
the VA Medical Center, 4 sites are U.S. Coast Guard clinics, 9 sites
are run by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, 26 sites are Public
Health Nursing Sites, and the remaining 195 sites are managed by 32
native health corporations. Designing a system that meets the needs
of each site and each organization is a complex task.
The success of such a project requires active state wide
discussion and decision making to formulate telehealth solutions that
fulfil existing health needs, are flexible and scalable, and are
sustainable. State wide advisory committees composed of staff from
the 37 member organizations are used for this purpose, representing
specialists in the following fields: Clinical, Training, Informatics,
Technology and Business. The committees are very active, meeting
regularly every month. Through these committees, we have evaluated
and selected equipment for the project, designed a state wide
communications network, and are currently working on assessment and
evaluations plans, clinical forms and protocols, kiosk development,
software design, and a host of other key issues.
We plan to begin deploying telehealth solutions to the first of
the 235 sites in July 2000. We have an ambitious project time line,
which is currently on schedule, that allows for 12 months to deploy
appropriate technology and training to all 235 sites in Alaska. This
first deployment will offer a specific list of choices that each
member organization may opt to install: acquisition telemedicine
stations with video otoscopes, digital cameras, EKG equipment and
electronic forms; review stations for reviewing consults; a patient
health education kiosk; and video teleconferencing equipment. The
latter is being offered where the connectivity exists - the other
equipment is designed to work over the worst POTS connection in
Alaska.
5) What are you doing in Alaska with Telehealth so far and
how has evolved?
The AFHCAN project plan has evolved in the last 12 months, and is
significantly different from the original plan. A key decision was
recognizing that many organizations had not participated in
telemedicine, and need to be offered simpler telehealth solutions to
begin a learning curve. Moreover, we have extensive experience with
design of specific telehealth solutions for ear disease through the
NLM project (I can send you a copy of several reports I generated
regarding the NLM project), which is a key health issue in Alaska.
Consequently, the project plan now promotes a multiphase
deployment, with the first deployment offering very specific choices
based on know health priorities in Alaska (ear disease, dermatology,
and cardiac care). A second deployment will follow this, offering
technologies specifically tailored to regional health needs (e.g. EEG
or retinal scans for diabetes screening).
The entire AFHCAN project may be viewed as a natural evolution of
the earlier project funded by the NLM (NLM Contract # N01-LM-6-3540)
to the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA - Fred Pearce was the
Principal Investigator). That project deployed equipment and training
to 4 regional hospitals and 26 village clinics staffed by community
health aides (CHAs). A CHA has a minimum requirement for reading and
writing at the 6th grade level, and received up to 4 months of class
training. The telehealth systems developed for that project is
currently being used actively. One region, consisting of the regional
hospital and 11 village clinics, conducts no less than 100 cases per
month and has more than 1000 cases in the last 9 months. We are using
the lessons learned from that project to design a significantly more
simple, yet more robust, and technically more capable systems for the
AFHCAN project.
6) To me Alaska seems like a perfect place for Telehealth,
because of distance, remoteness and weather. What has been the
reaction so far and what are some of the problems and success's?
Recognizing that the AFHCAN project has not deployed equipment to
sites, I can speak more from experience in regards to the NLM
project. That equipment has received universal support from the
health aides, and state wide is used for over 200 cases every month.
My favorite reaction is a health aide that, when asked what she
thought about the equipment, said "It makes my guts flop".
Many health aides wonder what they did before. Typically, health
aides report many cases over the phone line to regional physicians
who may be located 100 or more miles away at the regional hospital.
This process, called "radio medical traffic" (RMT) for
historical reasons, is the only link most health aides have with
physicians. The ability to add an image to that conversation with
simple "store and forward" technology cannot be overstated.
A major success being documented by the evaluation team on the NLM
project (at UAA) is a significant decrease in the use of antibiotics
following the introduction of telemedicine equipment. the CDC is
reporting an added advantage in that a reduction in antibiotic usage
also ties with a significant reduction in the antibiotic-resistant
strains of bacteria.
We have a lot of anecdotal evidence from specific cases in the NLM
project, indicating major improvements in the quality of health care
delivery. A young girl that was reported as having "bruising"
was later diagnosed using the telemedicine images as having
"hemorrhaging", flown immediately to the regional hospital,
received 6 units of blood and would certainly have died without the
rapid response generated by the telemedicine system. Patients with
severe wounds during harsh winter conditions were treated
successfully by health aides who used the telemedicine system to
receive guidance on closing the wounds. The wounds would otherwise
have remained open for possibly several days until weather improved
for airplane travel.
Major problems with the installation of telemedicine systems in
Alaska continue to be related to problems with the telecommunications
systems. Many of the sites have only poor telephone connectivity,
attaining less than 2400 baud with intermittent connections. Some
sites are now receiving T1 connectivity, but that is very expensive
(about $12,000 per month to each site). Almost all sites employ
satellite connections, because land lines simply do not exist to the
vast majority of Alaska locations outside Anchorage, Fairbanks and
Juneau. Satellite connectivity introduces delays and bandwidth
constraints that have to be considered when designing systems.
Consequently, we are designing a system that will work over the best
and worst of connections. Image and video compression technologies
are key to this project, but we also recognize that some capability
simply cannot be made available at locations with 2400 baud
connectivity.
We are also designing a state wide network for telehealth that
will allow all member organizations to connect in a "seamless"
and "secure" manner to all other health organizations. The
core of this network is a series of scaleable routers co-located at
the major carriers in Anchorage, to which the member organizations
obtain either leased-lines or dial-up connectivity. This network has
the potential to not only move health data but also video and voice,
and offers many significant technological advances to the member
organizations. Currently, the state wide Informatics committee has
adopted a design specifications and we plan to build the network in
the next quarter.
7) If you could look to the future in Alaska. what do you
see as the legacy and the future of the Network and Telehealth in
Alaska?
The legacy will be a sustainable, state wide network that improves
the quality and access to health care for all Alaskans. The system
currently being designed will allow any health care provider to
participate, and allow health care organizations to control and
manage the flow of their health information to best meet the needs of
the customers (patients).
8) What have you learned and what would you tell readers
about the Network and Telehealth?
I never feel free to tell anyone about telehealth, because a lot
of our experience is unique to Alaska. That being said, a major goal
that we strive to attain is to design a system that is not
"telemedical" but is rather "medical". We expect
that about 75% of our equipment funds will be spent on the medical
equipment (video otoscopes, EKG hardware, etc) compared to 25% spent
on computers, modems, keyboards, etc. Therefore, we are investing
heavily in medical equipment that, by itself, provides a
significantly better platform for diagnosis and treatment.
We believe any system we implement must allow the care provider to
leverage these medical tools to maximum allowable usage. For example,
a system that requires providers to logon then enter significant
patient information before they can even begin to view ear images...
is less likely to be used than a system that allows the provider to
immediately view ear images. Our systems are being designed to allow
the user to immediately grab relevant medical data within 2 mouse
clicks of the initial screen with no keyboard input. Furthermore, we
are deploying touchscreens to minimize the need for mouse or keyboard
usage whatsoever. All in all, we are designing systems that are
virtually "manual free", with a near-zero learning curve
and hugely intuitive interface.
A significant advantage to a "medical" rather than
"telemedical" approach is the constant use of the
equipment. A major problem with systems that are only used for
"telemedical" purposes is the rarity with which the
equipment is used. Consequently, the user forgets the minor
adjustments critical to diagnostic quality data (e.g. forgetting to
focus, allow the light source to warm up, cleaning the lens or tip of
the apparatus, etc.). Frequent use of any equipment is the best way
to assure good quality data.
Obviously there is a wealth of lessons learned in the past
deployment to 30 different sites. Don't deploy in an Alaska winter
(we had trainers that could not leave the clinics due to polar bears
being in town). Continually redesign the interface to make it simpler
simpler simpler. Develop appropriate training materials. Always
involve the end users in all aspects of the project, and actively
seek input from all levels of care providers. Design a system that
users want to use on every patient - not just the telemedicine cases.
A simple system that works and is easy to use is worlds better than a
complex system that is hard to understand. We have to remember that
often 90% of the relevant clinical data is in the first good image,
and the remaining 10% can be gleamed from the attached forms and the
often redundant images. Systems should be designed to best grab that
90% of the data.
See, after saying I would not tell anyone about our lessons
learned, I had to ramble for paragraphs.
9) Thanks for your time and you where can be reached for
further information?
Stewart Ferguson, Ph.D.
Associate Project Director
Director
of Technology
Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network
Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network
4201 Tudor Centre
Dr., Suite 310
Anchorage, AK 99508
phone: (907) 729-2262
fax:
(907) 729-2269
email: SFerguson@ANHB.org
Thanks,
Bob Pyke Jr.,RN,CPNP
Assistant Editor & Roving
Reporter TelehealthNet News
A. STEWART FERGUSON
4327 Birch Run Dr., Anchorage, AK
99507
phone: 907-349-3423 email: FREEZE@ALASKA.NET
SUMMARY
Two and half years in the design,
deployment, and support of telehealth systems in Alaska. Over twenty
years of progressive computer and research experience in academic,
industrial, biomedical and business environments. Owner/partner of
two consulting firms specializing in custom software development,
database design, and integrated network installation.
EDUCATION
1991 Ph.D. in Biomedical
Engineering
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland,
OH
Doctoral Thesis: "Theoretical Calculations of Magnetic
Fields Generated by Neural Currents"
1985 M.S. in Biomedical Engineering
Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, OH
Masters Thesis: "Muscle Plasticity:
Changes Due to Different Frequencies and Total Activity of Electrical
Stimulation"
1981 B.S. in Electrical Engineering, summa cum laude
Bradley
University, Peoria, IL
1981 B.S. in Mathematics, summa cum laude
Bradley University,
Peoria, IL
EXPERIENCE
1999-present Chief Technology
Officer, Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN) Project,
Alaska Native Health Board, Anchorage, Alaska. Direct all technical
aspects related to the AFHCAN Project, whose mission and vision is to
implement sustainable telehealth solutions at 235 sites in Alaska.
Supervise a staff of 4 technical personnel responsible for all
technical research and design, including the design of a state wide
telehealth network, design of state wide "store and forward"
and "live video conferencing" systems, selection of
medical-grade and computer hardware, development of a "virtual
operating environment", and design of a telehealth kiosk.
Currently serving as Acting Project Director.
1997-1999 Chief Technology Officer, Alaska Telemedicine Testbed
Project, Alaska Native Health Board, Anchorage, Alaska. Designed and
installed a telemedicine system serving 26 remote Alaska village
health clinics and 4 regional hospitals. Reviewed and selected
medical equipment (video otoscopes, digital cameras), developed and
customized software, installed and maintained hardware and software.
1991-1998 Owner, Founder, Large Pond Networks, Pago Pago, American
Samoa. A consulting firm located in American Samoa specializing in
developing MIS (Management Information Systems) and providing network
installation and training. Clients include Port Administration,
Customs and Excise Division, High Court, District Court, Department
of Education, Department of Human Resources, Special Education,
Environmental Protection Agency, and local airlines.
1995-1997 Co-founder, Partner, Abort, Retry, Fail, Inc.,
Cleveland, OH. Corporation specializing in networking and custom
software development for DOS and MAC based computers.
1990-1996 Post-Doctoral Fellow and Research Associate, Physics
Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Collaborated with Dr. Gerhard Stroink in Biomagnetic Imaging of
Cardiac Activity. Developed new theoretical approaches to applying
the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to solving the "inverse"
problem in Biomagnetism. Developed algorithms and software to improve
the stability, accuracy, computational speed and clinical viability
of inverse solutions.
1984-1991 System Manager, Applied Neural Control Laboratory, Case
Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Maintained software and
hardware for a mixed network of 25 DOS and MAC based computers.
Involved in decision making for purchasing software and hardware.
1984-1991 Computer Programmer and Consultant, Cleveland, OH.
Custom programming for private, academic and industrial clients.
Membership
American Telemedicine
Association
Honors and Awards
Elected as "One of
Cleveland's 89 Most Interesting People", Cleveland Magazine,
1989
NIH Fellowship to attend workshop on supercomputer
applications in biomedical research at the Pittsburgh Supercomputer
Center, 1988.
Co-Winner, Advanced Category, Research Day
Presentation Contest, 1988
Recipient of first "Outstanding
Resident Director Award", Case Western Reserve University,
1986
NIH Training Grant for graduate studies in Biomedical
Engineering, 1981-1985.
Winner, Intermediate Category, Research
Day Presentation Contest, 1984
Tau Beta Phi honor society,
1981
Eta Kappa Nu honor society, 1981
National Scholarship
winner, Instrument Society of America, 1976
PUBLICATIONS - Abstracts, presentations
Ferguson,
A.S., R. Rawls and F.W. Pearce. "Successful Solutions to
Information Flow and User Interface Issues Affecting Telemedicine in
Alaska". Abstract and presentation presented at 4th Annual
Conference of the American Telemedicine Association, Salt Lake City,
Utah, 1999.
R. Rawls, D. Statz, A.S. Ferguson, F.W. Pearce and H. Hammond.
"The Impact of Store and Forward Telemedicine Systems on the
Treatment of Ear Disease in Rural Alaska". Abstract and
presentation presented at 4th Annual Conference of the American
Telemedicine Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1999.
Ferguson, A.S., F.W. Pearce, R. Rawls, M. Terry and K.
Boucha-Roberts. "Narrow Bandwidth Solutions for Telemedicine and
Telehealth in Alaska". Abstract and presentation presented at
3rd Annual Conference of the American Telemedicine Association,
Orlando, Florida, 1998.
Ferguson, A.S., D. Vardy, R. Hren and G. Stroink. "A
Regularized Minimum Norm Method for Calculating Distributions of
Source Currents on Epicardial Surfaces". Abstract and poster
presented at 9th International Conference on Biomagnetism, Vienna,
Austria, 1993.
Hren, R., D. Vardy, R. Miller, A.S. Ferguson and G. Stroink.
"Approximation of Torso Geometries by Surface Harmonic
Expansion". Abstract and poster presented at 9th International
Conference on Biomagnetism, Vienna, Austria, 1993.
Stroink, G., A.S. Ferguson, R. Lamothe, D. Vardy, M. Gardner, B.
Miller. "Imaging Cardiac Function Using Magnetic Field and Body
Surface Potential Maps". Abstract and presentation presented at
Cardiovascular Science and Technology Conference, Association for the
Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, Washington DC, 1993.
Zhang, X., A.S. Ferguson and G. Stroink. "A Node-Based
Boundary Element Method to Calculate the Continuous Variation of
Cardiac Potentials Over a Closed Surface". Poster only (no
abstract) for 14th Annual IEEE-EMBS Conference, Paris, France, 1992.
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "A New Approach to Modelling
Current Sources: Theory and Applications". Abstract and poster
at 8th International Conference on Biomagnetism, Munster, Germany,
1991.
Nagarajan, S.S., D. Durand, A.S. Ferguson and E.N. Warman.
"Magnetic Stimulation of Finite Neuronal Structures". Paper
and presentation for 13th Annual IEEE-EMBS Conference, Orlando, 1991.
Hill, M.R.S., O.J. Prohaska and A.S. Ferguson. "Evaluation of
a Chamber-Type Microelectrode for Intracortical Stimulation".
Poster for 4th Annual Applied Neural Control Research Day, Cleveland,
1989.
Dalbasti, T., D. Durand and A.S. Ferguson. "Induced Electric
Fields by Magnetic Stimulation". Poster for 4th Annual Applied
Neural Control Research Day, Cleveland, 1989.
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "Magnetic Fields of Current
Monopoles". Abstract and poster at 7th International Conference
on Biomagnetism, New York City, 1989.
PUBLICATIONS - Abstracts, presentations (continued) Hill, M.R.S.,
A.S. Ferguson, and O.J. Prohaska. "Chambered versus Unchambered
Thin-Film Microelectrodes". Poster and presentation for BME
Research Day, Dept. Biomed. Eng., Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, 1989.
D. Durand, and A.S. Ferguson. "Induced Electric Fields by
Magnetic Stimulation in Conducting Media". Abstract for 3rd
Vienna International Workshop on Functional Electrostimulation,
Vienna, Austria, 1989.
Hill, M.R.S., A.S. Ferguson, and O.J. Prohaska. "Stimulation
Efficacy of Chamber-Type, Thin-Film Microelectrodes". Paper and
presentation for 11th Annual IEEE-EMBS Conference, Seattle, 1989.
D. Durand, A.S. Ferguson, and T. Dalbasti. "Induced Electric
Fields by Magnetic Stimulation in Non-Homogeneous Conducting Media".
Abstract for 11th Annual IEEE-EMBS Conference, Seattle, 1989.
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "Design of a Room Temperature
Magnetic Field Sensor". First place poster in the Advanced group
at BME Research Day, Dept. Biomed. Eng., Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, 1988.
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "Finite Difference Modelling of
Neuronal Potentials and Current Densities". Poster for 3rd
Annual Applied Neural Control Research Day, Cleveland, 1988.
Sweeney, J.D., J.T. Mortimer, D.R. Bodner, and A.S. Ferguson.
"Collision Block of Motor Activity in Peripheral Nerve".
Abstract at World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical
Engineering, San Antonio, Texas, 1988.
Mortimer, J.T., J.D. Sweeney, D.R. Bodner and A.S. Ferguson. "An
Implantable Cuff Electrode for Collision Block of Pudendal Nerve
Motor Activity". Invited paper and presentation for 10th Annual
IEEE-EMBS Conference, New Orleans, 1988.
Durand, D., A.S. Ferguson, and J.D. Sweeney. "Finite
Differences Modelling of Neuronal Activity". Presentation at
ACEMB 1987 Conference, Niagara Falls, 1987.
Ferguson, A.S., and D. Durand. "Finite Difference Modelling
of Neuronal Potentials and Current Densities". Soc. Neurosci.
Abstr., Vol. 12, p. 851, 1986.
Ferguson, A.S. "Muscle Plasticity: Changes Due to Different
Frequencies and Total Activity of Electrical Stimulation". M.S.
Thesis, January 1985; Case Western Reserve University.
Ferguson, A.S., H.E. Stone and J.T. Mortimer. "Muscle
Plasticity Induced by Electrical Stimulation: A Comparison of
Stimulation Paradigms and Hours/Day of Stimulation". First place
poster in the Intermediate group at BME Research Day, Dept. Biomed.
Eng., Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, 1984.
Stone, H.E., A.S. Ferguson, J.T. Mortimer, and E. Tisdale.
"Effects of Manual and Voluntary Ranging on Muscle Stimulated
Under Restricted Length Conditions". Soc. Neurosci. Abstr., Vol.
10, p. 908, 1984.
PUBLICATIONS - Abstracts, presentations (continued) Ferguson,
A.S., H.E. Stone, J.T. Mortimer, M. Burke, and E. Tisdale. "Muscle
Plasticity Induced by Electrical Stimulation: A Comparison of
Stimulation Paradigms and Hours/Day of Stimulation". Soc.
Neurosci. Abstr., Vol. 10, p. 907, 1984.
Stone, H.E., A.S. Ferguson, J.T. Mortimer, and U. Roessmann.
"Effects of Different Stimulation Paradigms on Physiological and
Histochemical Properties of Stimulated Muscle". Soc. Neurosci.
Abstr., Vol. 9, p. 1038, 1983.
PRESENTATIONS - Invited Talks Ferguson, A.S. "Localization of
Epicardial Sources Using Magnetic and Potential Maps". Invited
speaker for 9th International Conference on Biomagnetism, Vienna,
Austria, 1993.
Ferguson, A.S., D. Durand, and T. Dalbasti. "Optimization of
Coil Design for Neuronal Excitation by Magnetic Stimulation".
Invited paper and presentation for 11th Annual IEEE-EMBS Conference,
Seattle, 1989.
Ferguson, A.S., J.D. Sweeney, D. Durand, and J.T. Mortimer.
"Finite Difference Modelling of Nerve Cuff Electric Fields".
Invited paper and presentation for 9th Annual IEEE-EMBS Conference,
Boston, 1987.
PUBLICATIONS - Peer Review Articles Ferguson, A.S. and G. Stroink.
"Factors Affecting the Accuracy of the Boundary Element Method
in the Forward Problem. Part I: Calculating Surface Potentials".
IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng, 1997.
Ferguson, A.S. and G. Stroink. "Localization of Epicardial
Sources Using Magnetic and Potential Maps". Advances in
Biomagnetism 93, L. Deecke (ed.) et al., pp. 641-646, 1995.
Ferguson, A.S., D. Vardy, R. Hren, and G. Stroink. "A
Regularized Minimum Norm Method for Calculating Distributions of
Source Currents on Epicardial Surfaces". Advances in
Biomagnetism 93, L. Deecke (ed.) et al., pp. 676-679, 1995.
Hren, R., D. Vardy, R. Miller, A.S. Ferguson, and G. Stroink.
"Approximation of Torso Geometries by Surface Harmonic
Expansion". Advances in Biomagnetism 93, L. Deecke (ed.) et al.,
pp. 668-670, 1995.
Ferguson, A.S. and G. Stroink. "The Potential Generated by
Current Sources Located in an Insulated Rectangular Volume
Conductor". J. Appl. Phys., 76, 1994.
Ferguson, A.S., X. Zhang, and G. Stroink. "A Complete Linear
Discretization for Calculating the Magnetic Field Using the Boundary
Element Method", IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng, 41(5):455-460, 1994.
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "A Theory of the Magnetic Field
from Current Monopoles". J. Appl. Phys., 71(6) 1992.
Durand, D. , A.S. Ferguson, and T. Dalbasti, "Effect of
Surface Boundary on Neuronal Magnetic Stimulation", IEEE Trans.
Biomed. Eng., 39(1):58-64, 1992.
PUBLICATIONS - Peer Review Articles (continued)
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "Magnetic Fields of Current
Monopoles in Special Volume Conductors", IEEE Trans. Mag.,
27(2):758-767, 1991.
D. Durand, and A.S. Ferguson. "Induced Electric Fields by
Magnetic Stimulation in Conducting Media", Artificial Organs,
14:475, 1990.
Ferguson, A.S. and D. Durand. "Magnetic Fields of Current
Monopoles", in Advances in Biomagnetism, S.J. Williamson (ed.)
et al., Plenum Press, New York, 1989.
Ferguson, A.S., H.E. Stone, U. Roessmann, M. Burke, E. Tisdale,
and J.T. Mortimer. "Muscle Plasticity: Comparison of the Effects
of a 30 Hz Burst Paradigm with 10 Hz Continuous Stimulation", J.
Appl. Physiol., 66(3):1143-1151, 1989.
