Mark Oldham, Professor of Radiation Oncology  

Mark Oldham

Office Location: 04214 Duke South Clinics, Duke South Clinics, Durham, NC 27710
Email Address: mark.oldham@duke.edu

Education:
Ph.D., Newcastle University (United Kingdom), 1991

Teaching (Spring 2025):

  • Medphy 520.01, Radiation therapy physics Synopsis
    Hock plaza 1034, TuTh 10:05 AM-11:20 AM

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Wang, Z; Thomas, A; Newton, J; Ibbott, G; Deasy, J; Oldham, M, Dose Verification of Stereotactic Radiosurgery Treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia with Presage 3D Dosimetry System., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (December, 2010) [doi]  [abs].
  2. Oldham, M; Clift, C; Thomas, A; Farfan, E; Foley, T; Jannik, T; Adamovics, J; Holmes, C; Stanley, S, Initial experience with optical-CT scanning of RadBall Dosimeters., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (December, 2010) [doi]  [abs].
  3. Grant, RL; Crowder, ML; Ibbott, GS; Simon, J; Frank, RK; Rogers, J; Loy, HM; Adamovics, J; Newton, J; Oldham, M; Stearns, S; Wendt, RE, Three-Dimensional Dosimetry of a Beta-Emitting Radionuclide Using PRESAGE Dosimeters., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (December, 2010) [doi]  [abs].
  4. Thomas, A; Bowsher, J; Roper, J; Oliver, T; Dewhirst, M; Oldham, M, A comprehensive method for optical-emission computed tomography., Phys Med Biol, vol. 55 no. 14 (July, 2010), pp. 3947-3957 [doi]  [abs].
  5. Brady, SL; Brown, WE; Clift, CG; Yoo, S; Oldham, M, Investigation into the feasibility of using PRESAGE/optical-CT dosimetry for the verification of gating treatments., Phys Med Biol, vol. 55 no. 8 (April, 2010), pp. 2187-2201 [doi]  [abs].
  6. Baldock, C; De Deene, Y; Doran, S; Ibbott, G; Jirasek, A; Lepage, M; McAuley, KB; Oldham, M; Schreiner, LJ, Polymer gel dosimetry., Phys Med Biol, vol. 55 no. 5 (March, 2010), pp. R1-63 [doi]  [abs].
  7. Clift, C; Thomas, A; Adamovics, J; Chang, Z; Das, I; Oldham, M, Toward acquiring comprehensive radiosurgery field commissioning data using the PRESAGE/optical-CT 3D dosimetry system., Phys Med Biol, vol. 55 no. 5 (March, 2010), pp. 1279-1293 [doi]  [abs].
  8. Pierquet, M; Thomas, A; Adamovics, J; Oldham, M, An investigation into a new re-useable 3D radiochromic dosimetry material, Presage., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (January, 2010), pp. 1-4 [doi]  [abs].
  9. Thomas, A; Oldham, M, Fast, large field-of-view, telecentric optical-CT scanning system for 3D radiochromic dosimetry., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (January, 2010), pp. 1-5 [doi]  [abs].
  10. Stunja, L; Thomas, A; Adamovics, J; Deasy, J; Oldham, M, A 'quad-phantom' film dosimeter for use as a multi-planar verification tool for PRESAGE/optical-CT., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (2010), pp. 12097 [doi]  [abs].
  11. Thomas, A; Pierquet, M; Oldham, M, Achieving accurate radiochromic optical-CT imaging when using a polychromatic light source., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 12045 (2010), pp. 210-214 [doi]  [abs].
  12. Newton, J; Thomas, A; Ibbott, G; Oldham, M, Preliminary commissioning investigations with the DMOS-RPC optical-CT Scanner., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 250 no. 1 (2010), pp. 12078 [doi]  [abs].
  13. Sakhalkar, H; Sterling, D; Adamovics, J; Ibbott, G; Oldham, M, Investigation of the feasibility of relative 3D dosimetry in the Radiologic Physics Center Head and Neck IMRT phantom using presage/optical-CT., Med Phys, vol. 36 no. 7 (July, 2009), pp. 3371-3377 [doi]  [abs].
  14. Sakhalkar, HS; Adamovics, J; Ibbott, G; Oldham, M, A comprehensive evaluation of the PRESAGE/optical-CT 3D dosimetry system., Med Phys, vol. 36 no. 1 (January, 2009), pp. 71-82 [doi]  [abs].
  15. Sakhalkar, HS; Adamovics, J; Ibbott, G; Oldham, M, An Investigation into the Robustness of Optical-CT Dosimetry of a Radiochromic Dosimeter Compatible with the RPC Head-and-Neck Phantom., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 164 no. 1 (January, 2009), pp. 12059 [doi]  [abs].
  16. Sakhalkar, H; Sterling, D; Adamovics, J; Ibbott, G; Oldham, M, Investigating the Feasibility of 3D Dosimetry in the RPC IMRT H&N Phantom., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 164 no. 2009 (2009), pp. 12058 [doi]  [abs].
  17. Kim, E; Bowsher, J; Thomas, AS; Sakhalkar, H; Dewhirst, M; Oldham, M, Improving the quantitative accuracy of optical-emission computed tomography by incorporating an attenuation correction: application to HIF1 imaging., Phys Med Biol, vol. 53 no. 19 (October, 2008), pp. 5371-5383 [doi]  [abs].
  18. Oldham, M; Sakhalkar, H; Oliver, T; Allan Johnson, G; Dewhirst, M, Optical clearing of unsectioned specimens for three-dimensional imaging via optical transmission and emission tomography., J Biomed Opt, vol. 13 no. 2 (2008), pp. 021113 [doi]  [abs].
  19. Oldham, M; Sakhalkar, H; Guo, P; Adamovics, J, An investigation of the accuracy of an IMRT dose distribution using two- and three-dimensional dosimetry techniques., Med Phys, vol. 35 no. 5 (May, 2008), pp. 2072-2080 [doi]  [abs].
  20. Sakhalkar, HS; Oldham, M, Fast, high-resolution 3D dosimetry utilizing a novel optical-CT scanner incorporating tertiary telecentric collimation., Med Phys, vol. 35 no. 1 (January, 2008), pp. 101-111 [doi]  [abs].
  21. Godfrey, DJ; Ren, L; Yan, H; Wu, Q; Yoo, S; Oldham, M; Yin, FF, Evaluation of three types of reference image data for external beam radiotherapy target localization using digital tomosynthesis (DTS)., Med Phys, vol. 34 no. 8 (August, 2007), pp. 3374-3384 [doi]  [abs].
  22. Oldham, M; Sakhalkar, H; Wang, YM; Guo, P; Oliver, T; Bentley, R; Vujaskovic, Z; Dewhirst, M, Three-dimensional imaging of whole rodent organs using optical computed and emission tomography., J Biomed Opt, vol. 12 no. 1 (2007), pp. 014009 [doi]  [abs].
  23. Sakhalkar, HS; Dewhirst, M; Oliver, T; Cao, Y; Oldham, M, Functional imaging in bulk tissue specimens using optical emission tomography: fluorescence preservation during optical clearing., Phys Med Biol, vol. 52 no. 8 (April, 2007), pp. 2035-2054 [doi]  [abs].
  24. Oldham, M; Sakhalkar, H; Guo, P, A dual-purpose CCD based micro-optical-CT scanning system., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 56 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 199-202 [doi] .
  25. Guo, P; Adamovics, J; Oldham, M, Quality assurance in 3D dosimetry by optical-CT., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 56 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 191-194 [doi] .
  26. Guo, P; Adamovics, J; Oldham, M, A practical three-dimensional dosimetry system for radiation therapy., Med Phys, vol. 33 no. 10 (October, 2006), pp. 3962-3972 [doi]  [abs].
  27. Oldham, M; Sakhalkar, H; Oliver, T; Wang, YM; Kirpatrick, J; Cao, Y; Badea, C; Johnson, GA; Dewhirst, M, Three-dimensional imaging of xenograft tumors using optical computed and emission tomography., Med Phys, vol. 33 no. 9 (September, 2006), pp. 3193-3202 [doi]  [abs].
  28. Guo, PY; Adamovics, JA; Oldham, M, Characterization of a new radiochromic three-dimensional dosimeter., Med Phys, vol. 33 no. 5 (May, 2006), pp. 1338-1345 [doi]  [abs].
  29. Godfrey, DJ; Yin, F-F; Oldham, M; Yoo, S; Willett, C, Digital tomosynthesis with an on-board kilovoltage imaging device., Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, vol. 65 no. 1 (May, 2006), pp. 8-15 [doi]  [abs].
  30. Yin, F-F; Das, S; Kirkpatrick, J; Oldham, M; Wang, Z; Zhou, S-M, Physics and imaging for targeting of oligometastases., Semin Radiat Oncol, vol. 16 no. 2 (April, 2006), pp. 85-101 [doi]  [abs].
  31. Oldham, M, 3D dosimetry by optical-CT scanning., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 56 (2006), pp. 58-71 [doi]  [abs].
  32. Oldham, M; Guo, P; Gluckman, G; Adamovics, J, IMRT verification using a radiochromic/optical-CT dosimetry system., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 56 (2006), pp. 221-224 [doi] .
  33. Oldham, M; Guo, P; Adamovics, J; Sakhalkar, H; Wang, Z; Yin, F, Towards four dimensional (4D) dosimetry for radiation-therapy., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 56 (2006), pp. 225-227 [doi] .
  34. Oldham, M; Létourneau, D; Watt, L; Hugo, G; Yan, D; Lockman, D; Kim, LH; Chen, PY; Martinez, A; Wong, JW, Cone-beam-CT guided radiation therapy: A model for on-line application., Radiother Oncol, vol. 75 no. 3 (June, 2005), pp. 271-278 [doi]  [abs].
  35. Létourneau, D; Wong, JW; Oldham, M; Gulam, M; Watt, L; Jaffray, DA; Siewerdsen, JH; Martinez, AA, Cone-beam-CT guided radiation therapy: technical implementation., Radiother Oncol, vol. 75 no. 3 (June, 2005), pp. 279-286 [doi]  [abs].
  36. Oldham, M; Kim, L; Hugo, G, Optical-CT imaging of complex 3D dose distributions., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 5745 (April, 2005), pp. 138-146 [doi]  [abs].
  37. Das, SK; Baydush, AH; Zhou, S; Miften, M; Yu, X; Craciunescu, O; Oldham, M; Light, K; Wong, T; Blazing, M; Borges-Neto, S; Dewhirst, MW; Marks, LB, Predicting radiotherapy-induced cardiac perfusion defects., Med Phys, vol. 32 no. 1 (January, 2005), pp. 19-27 [doi]  [abs].
  38. Oldham, M; Kim, L, Optical-CT gel-dosimetry. II: Optical artifacts and geometrical distortion., Med Phys, vol. 31 no. 5 (May, 2004), pp. 1093-1104 [doi]  [abs].
  39. Létourneau, D; Gulam, M; Yan, D; Oldham, M; Wong, JW, Evaluation of a 2D diode array for IMRT quality assurance., Radiother Oncol, vol. 70 no. 2 (February, 2004), pp. 199-206 [doi]  [abs].
  40. Oldham, M, Optical-CT scanning of polymer gels., J Phys Conf Ser, vol. 3 (2004), pp. 122-135 [doi]  [abs].
  41. Oldham, M; Siewerdsen, JH; Kumar, S; Wong, J; Jaffray, DA, Optical-CT gel-dosimetry I: basic investigations., Med Phys, vol. 30 no. 4 (April, 2003), pp. 623-634 [doi]  [abs].
  42. Oldham, M; Sapareto, SA; Li, XA; Allen, J; Sutlief, S; Wong, OC; Wong, JW, Practical aspects of in situ 16O (gamma,n) 15O activation using a conventional medical accelerator for the purpose of perfusion imaging., Med Phys, vol. 28 no. 8 (August, 2001), pp. 1669-1678 [doi]  [abs].
  43. Oldham, M; Siewerdsen, JH; Shetty, A; Jaffray, DA, High resolution gel-dosimetry by optical-CT and MR scanning., Med Phys, vol. 28 no. 7 (July, 2001), pp. 1436-1445 [doi]  [abs].
  44. McJury, M; Oldham, M; Cosgrove, VP; Murphy, PS; Doran, S; Leach, MO; Webb, S, Radiation dosimetry using polymer gels: methods and applications., Br J Radiol, vol. 73 no. 873 (September, 2000), pp. 919-929 [doi]  [abs].
  45. Low, DA; Markman, J; Dempsey, JF; Mutic, S; Oldham, M; Venkatesan, R; Haacke, EM; Purdy, JA, Noise in polymer gel measurements using MRI., Med Phys, vol. 27 no. 8 (August, 2000), pp. 1814-1817 [doi]  [abs].
  46. Baustert, IC; Oldham, M; Smith, TA; Hayes, C; Webb, S; Leach, MO, Optimized MR imaging for polyacrylamide gel dosimetry., Phys Med Biol, vol. 45 no. 4 (April, 2000), pp. 847-858 [doi]  [abs].
  47. McJury, M; Tapper, PD; Cosgrove, VP; Murphy, PS; Griffin, S; Leach, MO; Webb, S; Oldham, M, Experimental 3D dosimetry around a high-dose-rate clinical 192Ir source using a polyacrylamide gel (PAG) dosimeter., Phys Med Biol, vol. 44 no. 10 (October, 1999), pp. 2431-2444 [doi]  [abs].
  48. Rowbottom, CG; Webb, S; Oldham, M, Beam-orientation customization using an artificial neural network., Phys Med Biol, vol. 44 no. 9 (September, 1999), pp. 2251-2262 [doi]  [abs].
  49. Khoo, VS; Oldham, M; Adams, EJ; Bedford, JL; Webb, S; Brada, M, Comparison of intensity-modulated tomotherapy with stereotactically guided conformal radiotherapy for brain tumors., Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, vol. 45 no. 2 (September, 1999), pp. 415-425 [doi]  [abs].
  50. McJury, M; Oldham, M; Leach, MO; Webb, S, Dynamics of polymerization in polyacrylamide gel (PAG) dosimeters: (I) ageing and long-term stability., Phys Med Biol, vol. 44 no. 8 (August, 1999), pp. 1863-1873 [doi]  [abs].
  51. Bedford, JL; Khoo, VS; Oldham, M; Dearnaley, DP; Webb, S, A comparison of coplanar four-field techniques for conformal radiotherapy of the prostate., Radiother Oncol, vol. 51 no. 3 (June, 1999), pp. 225-235 [doi]  [abs].
  52. Rowbottom, CG; Oldham, M; Webb, S, Constrained customization of non-coplanar beam orientations in radiotherapy of brain tumours., Phys Med Biol, vol. 44 no. 2 (February, 1999), pp. 383-399 [doi]  [abs].
  53. Rowbottom, CG; Webb, S; Oldham, M, Is it possible to optimize a radiotherapy treatment plan?, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, vol. 43 no. 3 (February, 1999), pp. 698-699 [doi] .
  54. Guzel, Z; Bedford, JL; Childs, PJ; Nahum, AE; Webb, S; Oldham, M; Tait, D, A comparison of conventional and conformal radiotherapy of the oesophagus: work in progress., Br J Radiol, vol. 71 no. 850 (October, 1998), pp. 1076-1082 [doi]  [abs].
  55. Oldham, M; McJury, M; Baustert, IB; Webb, S; Leach, MO, Improving calibration accuracy in gel dosimetry., Phys Med Biol, vol. 43 no. 10 (October, 1998), pp. 2709-2720 [doi]  [abs].
  56. Oldham, M; Khoo, VS; Rowbottom, CG; Bedford, JL; Webb, S, A case study comparing the relative benefit of optimizing beam weights, wedge angles, beam orientations and tomotherapy in stereotactic radiotherapy of the brain., Phys Med Biol, vol. 43 no. 8 (August, 1998), pp. 2123-2146 [doi]  [abs].
  57. Rowbottom, CG; Webb, S; Oldham, M, Improvements in prostate radiotherapy from the customization of beam directions., Med Phys, vol. 25 no. 7 Pt 1 (July, 1998), pp. 1171-1179 [doi]  [abs].
  58. Oldham, M; Baustert, I; Lord, C; Smith, TA; McJury, M; Warrington, AP; Leach, MO; Webb, S, An investigation into the dosimetry of a nine-field tomotherapy irradiation using BANG-gel dosimetry., Phys Med Biol, vol. 43 no. 5 (May, 1998), pp. 1113-1132 [doi]  [abs].
  59. Bedford, JL; Oldham, M; Hoess, A; Evans, PM; Shentall, GS; Webb, S, Methods for transferring patient and plan data between radiotherapy treatment planning systems, British Journal of Radiology, vol. 70 no. JULY (1997), pp. 740-749 [doi]  [abs].
  60. Oldham, M; Webb, S, Intensity-modulated radiotherapy by means of static tomotherapy: a planning and verification study., Med Phys, vol. 24 no. 6 (June, 1997), pp. 827-836 [doi]  [abs].
  61. Webb, S; Oldham, M, A method to study the characteristics of 3D dose distributions created by superposition of many intensity-modulated beams delivered via a slit aperture with multiple absorbing vanes., Phys Med Biol, vol. 41 no. 10 (October, 1996), pp. 2135-2153 [doi]  [abs].
  62. Oldham, M; Neal, AJ; Webb, S, The optimisation of wedge filters in radiotherapy of the prostate., Radiother Oncol, vol. 37 no. 3 (December, 1995), pp. 209-220 [doi]  [abs].
  63. Neal, AJ; Oldham, M; Dearnaley, DP, Comparison of treatment techniques for conformal radiotherapy of the prostate using dose-volume histograms and normal tissue complication probabilities., Radiother Oncol, vol. 37 no. 1 (October, 1995), pp. 29-34 [doi]  [abs].
  64. Oldham, M; Webb, S, The optimization and inherent limitations of 3D conformal radiotherapy treatment plans of the prostate., Br J Radiol, vol. 68 no. 812 (August, 1995), pp. 882-893 [doi]  [abs].
  65. Oldham, M; Neal, A; Webb, S, A comparison of conventional 'forward planning' with inverse planning for 3D conformal radiotherapy of the prostate., Radiother Oncol, vol. 35 no. 3 (June, 1995), pp. 248-262 [doi]  [abs].

Highlight:
Dr Oldham is the Director of the Duke Medical Physics MS/PhD Graduate Program, and Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, with a secondary appointment in the Physics Department at Duke. 

Main current research interests include: FLASH radiation therapy, exploring FLASH mechanisms utilizing the Duke High Intensity Gamma Source (HIGS), a nuclear research accelerator on the Duke campus.  Recent work selected for best in Physics at the annual AAPM meeting.  Radiation and Immunotherapy utilizing mini-grids. Radiation Therapy Enhanced by Cherenkov photo-Activation (RECA) and Comprehensive 3D dosimetry.

Dr Oldham has patented and published on several novel radiation treatment techniques (including XPACT and RECA - Radiotherapy Enhanced by Cherenkov photo-Activation) with exiting potential to invoke systemic anti-cancer immunogenic response.  A phase I clinical trial of XPACT is underway.  The lab has pioneered novel pre-clinical treatment capabilities including mini-beam grids, and ultra-high-resolution IMRT.  The lab has also developed novel optical imaging techniques for high-resolution 3D imaging of vascular networks and fluorescent gene expression in un-sectioned tissue samples.