Strategic Arrangement - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	Jun. 29, 2012	Apr. 30, 2012
Collaborative Arrangements and Non-collaborative Arrangement Transactions [Line Items]
Fixed fees Varian committed to pay		$ 10,000,000
License fees Varian committed to pay		20,000,000
Amount payable related to product development milestones	$ 0

Amount payable related to product development milestones.

No definition available.

Name:	var_AmountPayableForProductDevelopmentMilestones
Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant