Yang Kai, Teo Ee-Chon, Fuss Franz Konstantin
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Blk 709, #10-291, Clementi West Street 2, Singapore 120709, Singapore.
J Biomech. 2007;40(14):3251-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2006.12.016. Epub 2007 Sep 5.
The Taguchi method is a statistical approach to overcome the limitation of the factorial and fractional factorial experiments by simplifying and standardizing the fractional factorial design. The objective of the current study is to illustrate the procedures and strengths of the Taguchi method in biomechanical analysis by using a case study of a cervical ring cage optimization. A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of C(5)-C(6) with a generic cervical ring cage inserted was modelled. Taguchi method was applied in the optimization of the cervical ring cage in material property and dimensions for producing the lowest stress on the endplate to reduce the risk of cage subsidence, as in the following steps: (1) establishment of objective function; (2) determination of controllable factors and their levels; (3) identification of uncontrollable factors and test conditions; (4) design of Taguchi crossed array layout; (5) execution of experiments according to trial conditions; (6) analysis of results; (7) determination of optimal run; (8) confirmation of optimum run. The results showed that a cage with larger width, depth and wall thickness can produce the lower von Mises stress under various conditions. The contribution of implant materials is found trivial. The current case study illustrates that the strengths of the Taguchi method lie in (1) consistency in experimental design and analysis; (2) reduction of time and cost of experiments; (3) robustness of performance with removing the noise factors. The Taguchi method will have a great potential application in biomechanical field when factors of the issues are at discrete level.
田口方法是一种统计方法，通过简化和标准化分数析因设计来克服析因实验和分数析因实验的局限性。本研究的目的是通过颈椎环笼优化的案例研究，阐述田口方法在生物力学分析中的步骤和优势。建立了一个插入通用颈椎环笼的C(5)-C(6)三维有限元(FE)模型。田口方法应用于颈椎环笼的材料性能和尺寸优化，以在终板上产生最低应力，降低笼下沉风险，具体步骤如下：(1)建立目标函数；(2)确定可控因素及其水平；(3)识别不可控因素和测试条件；(4)设计田口交叉阵列布局；(5)根据试验条件进行实验；(6)分析结果；(7)确定最佳运行；(8)确认最佳运行。结果表明，在各种条件下，宽度、深度和壁厚较大的笼可产生较低的冯·米塞斯应力。发现植入材料的贡献微不足道。当前的案例研究表明，田口方法的优势在于：(1)实验设计和分析的一致性；(2)减少实验时间和成本；(3)消除噪声因素时性能的稳健性。当问题的因素处于离散水平时，田口方法在生物力学领域将具有巨大的潜在应用价值。
