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The aggregate expense charged against earnings to allocate the cost of intangible assets (nonphysical assets not used in production) in a systematic and rational manner to the periods expected to benefit from such assets. As a noncash expense, this element is added back to net income when calculating cash provided by or used in operations using the indirect method.

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The amount of acquisition cost of a business combination allocated to an identifiable intangible asset that will be amortized.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

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Amount of goodwill arising from a business combination, which is the excess of the cost of the acquired entity over the amounts assigned to assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

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Accumulated amount of amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life.

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Amount before amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life.

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Amount after amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life.

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A description of the remaining amortization period of a major finite-lived intangible asset class.

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4. Intangible Assets, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Customer Relationships [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Customer Relationships [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Know how [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Know how [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Developed Technology Rights [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Developed Technology Rights [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Licensing Agreements [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Licensing Agreements [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Trade Names [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Trade Names [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Noncompete Agreements [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Noncompete Agreements [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Patents [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Other Intangible Assets [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Intangible Assets [Member]	Aug. 31, 2012 CellSorter [Member]	Aug. 31, 2012 CellSorter [Member] Developed Technology Rights [Member]	Aug. 31, 2012 CellSorter [Member] Noncompete Agreements [Member]	Aug. 31, 2012 CellSorter [Member] Other Intangible Assets [Member]	Jul. 30, 2012 Benelux [Member]	Jul. 30, 2012 Benelux [Member] Customer Relationships [Member]	Jul. 30, 2012 Benelux [Member] Trade Names [Member]	Jan. 18, 2012 Portland [Member]
Acquired Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill Amount																					$ 17,400,000				$ 3,000,000			$ 1,100,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Amortizable Intangible Assets																					32,100,000	27,300,000	4,700,000	100,000	4,900,000	3,800,000	1,100,000	5,100,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Net [Abstract]
Average Remaining Life (years)						1-12	1-12	1-14	1-14	1-10	1-11	1-8	1-9	1-10	1-10	1-10	1-7	0	1	0
Purchase Price	436,000,000		436,000,000		405,300,000	100,900,000	98,700,000	186,800,000	187,000,000	73,800,000	47,600,000	35,600,000	35,600,000	30,600,000	29,500,000	8,200,000	5,800,000	1,000,000	100,000	100,000
Accumulated Amortization	(167,100,000)		(167,100,000)		(145,800,000)	(35,600,000)	(30,900,000)	(60,600,000)	(45,700,000)	(22,700,000)	(24,600,000)	(18,000,000)	(15,700,000)	(26,700,000)	(22,100,000)	(3,500,000)	(5,700,000)	(1,000,000)	0	(100,000)
Net Carrying Amount	268,866,000		268,866,000		259,497,000	65,300,000	67,800,000	126,200,000	141,300,000	51,100,000	23,000,000	17,600,000	19,900,000	3,900,000	7,400,000	4,700,000	100,000	0	100,000	0
Amortization [Abstract]
Amortization expense	$ 10,700,000	$ 9,600,000	$ 32,200,000	$ 27,700,000