Finite element (FE) modelling of a vertebral body (VB) is considered challenging due to the many parameters involved such as element size and type, and material properties. Previous studies have reported how these parameters affect the mechanical behaviour of a VB model; however, most studies just compared results without any specific statistical tool to quantify their influence. The Taguchi Method (TM) has been successfully used in manufacturing and biomechanics to evaluate process parameters and to determine optimum set-up conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the main finite element modelling parameters on the mechanical behaviour of a VB model using the Taguchi Method. A FE model was developed based on a C2 juvenile porcine vertebral body and three of the most commonly used modelling parameters were evaluated using TM in terms of the change in the predicted stiffness in comparison to experimental values: element size, number of different material properties for VB (based on grey-scale bins) and calibration factor for grey-scale to density to Young's Modulus equation. The influence of the combined factors was also assessed. The Taguchi analysis showed that the three factors are independent. The calibration factor is the main contributor, accounting for 97% of the predicted stiffness, with the value of 0.03 most closely aligning the numerical and experimental results. Element size accounted for 2% of the predicted stiffness, with 0.75 mm being the optimal, while the number of grey-scale bins influenced the results by less than 1%. Our findings indicate that the calibration factor is the main modelling parameter, with the element size and number of bins accounting for less than 3% of the predicted stiffness. Therefore, calibration of material properties should be done based on a large number of samples to ensure reliable results.

由于涉及许多参数，例如单元尺寸和类型以及材料特性，椎体 (VB) 的有限元 (FE) 建模被认为具有挑战性。以前的研究报告了这些参数如何影响 VB 模型的力学行为；然而，大多数研究只是比较结果，没有任何特定的统计工具来量化其影响。田口方法 (TM) 已成功用于制造和生物力学，以评估工艺参数并确定最佳设置条件。本研究旨在使用田口方法评估主要有限元建模参数对 VB 模型力学行为的影响。有限元模型是基于 C2 幼猪椎体开发的，并且使用 TM 根据预测刚度与实验值相比的变化来评估三个最常用的建模参数：元素尺寸、不同材料属性的数量VB（基于灰度箱）和用于杨氏模量方程的灰度到密度的校准因子。还评估了综合因素的影响。田口分析表明这三个因素是独立的。校准因子是主要贡献者，占预测刚度的 97%，值 0.03 与数值和实验结果最接近。单元尺寸占预测刚度的 2%，0.75 毫米是最佳的，而灰度箱的数量对结果的影响不到 1%。我们的研究结果表明，校准因子是主要的建模参数，单元尺寸和分箱数量占预测刚度的不到 3%。因此，材料特性的校准应基于大量样品进行，以确保结果可靠。