US Patent 7037327 Stent with self-expanding end sections

A hybrid stent that is defined as having a central section that is balloon expandable and end sections that are self-expanding. The entire stent is mounted on a balloon of a balloon angioplasty catheter. One way to retain the self-expanding portion of the stent onto a balloon onto which it has been nested is to place a cylindrical elastomer tube around each of the self-expanding end sections of the stent. Another way to retain the hybrid stent onto a stent delivery system is to use a conventional sheath that is pulled back to initiate stent deployment