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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
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Sep. 27, 2014 Customer | Mar. 29, 2014 | Dec. 28, 2013 | Sep. 28, 2013 Customer | Jun. 29, 2013 | Dec. 29, 2012 | Sep. 29, 2012 | Sep. 27, 2014 Customer | Sep. 28, 2013 Customer | Sep. 29, 2012
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cash equivalent maturity period |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | three months or less |
Number of customers with balance greater than specified percentage | 0 |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 0 | 0 |
Impairment charges on tangible assets |  |  | $ 3,100,000 |  |  |  |  |  | $ 6,300,000 | $ 19,500,000
Impairment charges on long lived assets |  | 28,600,000 |  | 700,000 |  |  |  |  | 3,700,000 | 6,500,000
Intangible assets useful life, minimum |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2 years |  |
Intangible assets useful life, maximum |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 30 years |  |
Acquired In-process research and development charges | 5,100,000 |  |  |  |  |  | 4,500,000 |  |  |
Discount rate assumption for fair value measurement of reporting unit |  |  |  |  |  | 10.00% |  | 10.00% |  | 10.00%
Impairment of goodwill |  |  |  | 1,100,000,000 |  |  | 5,800,000 | 0 | 1,117,400,000 | 5,800,000
Additional impairment charge |  | 28,600,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Percentage of equity ownership at which cost-method investments would not qualify for cost-method accounting |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 20.00% |  |
Other-than-temporary impairment charges |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 6,900,000 | 6,400,000 | 0
Sale of investment |  |  |  |  | 2,000,000 |  |  |  |  |
Product Warranty Term |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1 year |  |
Advertising cost |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 14,100,000 | 14,100,000 | 29,800,000
Gen-Probe Incorporated [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
In-process research and development assets |  |  |  | 117,000,000 |  |  | 227,000,000 |  | 117,000,000 | 227,000,000
IPR&D Projects | 4 |  |  |  |  |  | 6 | 4 |  | 6
In-process research and development, value | 94,000,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  | 94,000,000 |  |
Expected number of years for project completion |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3 years |  |
Molecular Diagnostics [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Discount rate assumption for fair value measurement of reporting unit |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 10.00% |
Impairment of goodwill |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,100,000,000 |
Percentage used to provide additional disclosure of potential goodwill impairment in the future |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 10.00% |
Additional impairment charge |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 195,400,000 |
MRI Breast Coils [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charges on tangible assets |  | 28,600,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
MRI Breast Coils [Member] | Property, Plant and Equipment [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charges on long lived assets |  | 1,500,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Other reporting units [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Reporting unit's goodwill |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2,610,000,000 |  |
Diagnostics [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment of goodwill |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 0 |  |
Reporting unit's goodwill |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 202,800,000 |  |
Developed Technology [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charge |  |  |  |  | 1,700,000 |  |  |  |  |
Developed Technology [Member] | Gen-Probe Incorporated [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Intangible assets from business acquisition |  |  |  | 1,700,000,000 |  |  | 1,570,000,000 |  | 1,700,000,000 | 1,570,000,000
Developed Technology [Member] | MRI Breast Coils [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charge |  | 26,600,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Trade Names [Member] | MRI Breast Coils [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charge |  | 500,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Member] | MRI Breast Coils [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charges on long lived assets |  | 27,100,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Defined contract term |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 3 years |  |
Minimum [Member] | Accounts receivable [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Concentration risk, percentage |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 10.00% | 10.00% |
Minimum [Member] | Total revenues [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Concentration risk, percentage |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 10.00% | 10.00% | 10.00%
Maximum [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Defined contract term |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5 years |  |
Cost of Sales [Member] | MRI Breast Coils [Member] | Property, Plant and Equipment [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charges on long lived assets |  | 300,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
General and Administrative Expense [Member] | MRI Breast Coils [Member] | Property, Plant and Equipment [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment charges on long lived assets |  | $ 1,200,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

X
- Definition Additional Impairment Charges + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to the fair value of in-process research and development. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Period of time from the date of acquisition for liquid investments in debt securities to be categorized as cash in the consolidated balance sheet. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Represents the Company's benchmark percentage used to provide additional disclosure of potential goodwill impairment in the future. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Finite Lived Intangible Asset Useful Life Maximum + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Finite Lived Intangible Asset Useful Life Minimum + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Represents the value of an in-process research and development project recorded as an asset in an acquisition that was completed and will be transferred to developed technology and amortized over its estimated useful life. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Represents the percent of equity ownership at which cost-method investments would not qualify for cost-method accounting. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Number of IPR&D Projects + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Number of customers with balance greater than specified percentage. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Represents the aggregate amount of goodwill related to those reporting units that passed Step One of the annual goodwill impairment test by a margin of more than ten percent when comparing each reporting unit's fair value to its carrying value. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Research and development in process project completion years. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Represents the percent change to fair value to use in evaluating the overall fair value of the reporting unit for sensitivity. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Details
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- Definition Warranty Term For Products + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 720 -SubTopic 35 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6420018&loc=d3e36677-107848 + Details
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- Definition The amount of identifiable intangible assets recognized as of the acquisition date. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=39739317&loc=d3e4845-128472 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 55 -Paragraph 37 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744172&loc=d3e2207-128464 + Details
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- Definition For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 825 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 21 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35750535&loc=d3e13537-108611 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 20 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6404-108592 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 825 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 20 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35750535&loc=d3e13531-108611 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 18 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6351-108592 + Details
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- Definition This item represents an other than temporary decline in value that has been recognized against an investment accounted for under the cost method of accounting. The excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the investment represents the amount of the write down which is or was reflected in earnings. The written down value is a new cost basis with the adjusted value of the investment becoming its new carrying value. Evidence of a loss in value might include, but would not necessarily be limited to, absence of an ability to recover the carrying amount of the investment or inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity which would justify the carrying amount of the investment. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 325 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6872867&loc=d3e40691-111596 + Details
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- Definition The difference between the carrying value and the sale price of an investment. A gain would be recognized when the sale price of the investment is greater than the carrying value of the investment. This element refers to the Gain included in earnings and not to the cash proceeds of the sale. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Amount of loss from the write-down of an asset representing the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3602-108585 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13854-109267 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 45 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6388280&loc=d3e13777-109266 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (e) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267 + Details
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- Definition The amount of impairment loss recognized in the period resulting from the write-down of the carrying amount of an intangible asset (excluding goodwill) to fair value. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3602-108585 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16373-109275 + Details
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- Definition The aggregate amount of write-downs for impairments recognized during the period for long-lived assets held for abandonment, exchange or sale. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3602-108585 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 15 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=8077374&loc=d3e2611-110228 + Details
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- Definition The amount of the write-off for research and development assets that were acquired in a transaction other than a business combination. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16265-109275 + Details
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- Definition The charge against earnings resulting from the aggregate write down of tangible assets from their carrying value to their fair value. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1361-107760 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391110&loc=d3e2921-110230 + Details
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