A. Stewart Ferguson, PhD

Stewart Ferguson Ph.D. is Director of the Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN) in Anchorage, Alaska.  AFHCAN is Alaska’s largest telehealth project with deployments at 248 remote sites, and has been recognized with the President’s Award from the American Telemedicine Association, a TETHIC Award for "Most Innovative New Technology Device for Diagnostics" for 2004, the National Managed Health Care Congress’ AstraZenca Award and the Grace Hopper Government Technology Leadership Award. 

Dr. Ferguson is absolutely passionate about developing telehealth systems that provide access to clinical care in our most remote regions.  Dr. Ferguson has been with AFHCAN since its inception in 1998. having previously served with the Alaska Native Health Board as CTO for the Village Telemedicine Testbed Project - a project funded by the National Library of Medicine that deployed telehealth solutions to 26 remote Alaska clinics and 4 regional hospitals.  He is currently Chairman of the Board for the Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center providing support to telehealth systems in 8 states and the Pacific Islands.

Dr. Ferguson has been an active member of ATA’s Technology Special Interest Group and has made presentations at several ATA meetings in addition to teaching in ATA’s technology courses.

Dr. Ferguson has over twenty years of progressive computer and research experience in academic, industrial, biomedical and business environments.  He has numerous publications, has served as a reviewer and editor for multiple journals and funding agencies, and has developed partnerships with multiple telehealth systems, agencies and vendors both nationally and internationally.  He has also been involved in software development for CT scanners, theoretical solutions for the forward and inverse problems in biomagnetism, imaging techniques for cardiac activity, and was the owner/partner of two consulting firms in Cleveland and American Samoa specializing in system analysis and network design.  He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering, and B.S. degrees in both Mathematics and Electrical Engineering.