 Hopping mode is slower than the others, but is able to image complex topography and even entire cells, without distorting the sample surface..

SICM was used to image a living neural cell from rat brain, determine the life cycle of microvilli, observe the movement of protein complexes in spermatozoa.SICM has been combined with fluorescence microscopy and förster resonance energy transfer.SICM has been used in a "smart patch-clamp" technique, clamping the pipette by suction to the surface of a cell and then monitoring the activity of the sodium channels in the cell membrane.