The images below compare performance of the Intel Play QX3 Computer Microscope with and without the aid of an organized cone of illumination from a darkfield Abbe substage condenser containing an aperture diaphragm. These photomicrographs are unretouched and were captured with the QX3 interactive software.

In vertebrates (including humans), joints are structures that separate two or more adjacent elements of the skeleton, allowing them to move. Some joints allow for movement early in life, becoming rigid as the animal matures. Fibrous joints (e.g. skull sutures in babies) are one of these transient joints, disappearing as the animal matures past infancy. Cartilaginous joints are masses of cartilage found between the bones or parts of bones and allow for movement due to growth in juveniles. As they mature, the cartilage hardens into bone. Synovial joints consist of a fibrous wall enclosing a joint cavity that is filled with synovial fluid. Depending on the body parts involved, synovial joints allow one or more of the following movements; spinning, swinging, gliding, rolling, and approximation.

The images above were recorded using the Intel Play QX3 microscope in transmitted darkfield illumination mode. On the top is a digital image from a stock QX3 microscope using auxiliary illumination provided by a fiber optic light pipe through a hole drilled into the mixing chamber. The image on the bottom was recorded using the QX3 microscope body and a Nikon achromatic substage condenser of low numerical aperture.

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