SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	6 Months Ended
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. These condensed consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes are unaudited and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2016 (the “2016 Annual Report”). In the opinion of management, the condensed consolidated financial statements herein include adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of March 31, 2017 and September 30, 2016, results of operations and statements of comprehensive earnings for the three and six months ended March 31, 2017 and April 1, 2016, and cash flows for the six months ended March 31, 2017 and April 1, 2016. The results of operations for the six months ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the full fiscal year or any future period. The historical financial position and results of operations of the Imaging Components business and costs relating to the Distribution are reported in the condensed consolidated financial statements as discontinued operations for all the periods presented. Information in the accompanying Notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements have been restated to reflect the effect of the Distribution. The Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Earnings and Cash Flows have not been restated to reflect the effect of the Distribution.
Reclassifications	Reclassifications The Company's Varian Particle Therapy ("VPT") business meets the criteria of a reportable operating segment. As of March 31, 2017, the Company's operations are grouped into two reportable operating segments: Oncology Systems and VPT. In conjunction with the Distribution of Varex, the Company changed its methodology for how corporate costs are allocated to its operating segments. For further information on the change in reportable segments and the methodology of the allocation of corporate costs see Note 16, "Segment Information." In the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, the Company began presenting debt issuance costs as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of its debt on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and discussed further in "Accounting Pronouncement Recently Adopted" below. All prior year amounts have been adjusted to conform to the current year's presentation.
Fiscal Year	Fiscal Year The fiscal years of the Company as reported are the 52- or 53-week periods ending on the Friday nearest September 30. Fiscal year 2017 is the 52-week period ending September 29, 2017. Fiscal year 2016 was the 52-week period that ended on September 30, 2016. The fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2017 and April 1, 2016 were both 13-week periods.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation The condensed consolidated financial statements include those of VMS and its wholly-owned and majority-owned or controlled subsidiaries. Intercompany balances, transactions and stock holdings have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Accounting Standards Recently Adopted	Accounting Standards Recently Adopted In March 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to the presentation of debt issuance costs. The amendment requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. The Company retrospectively adopted this amendment in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, resulting in a $0.6 million change from prepaid expenses and other current assets to current maturities of long-term debt and a $0.6 million change from other assets to long-term debt as of September 30, 2016 on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements or Updates Not Yet Effective	Recent Accounting Standards or Updates Not Yet Effective In March 2017, the FASB amended its guidance on the accounting related to defined benefit plans and other post-retirement benefits. This amendment requires the service cost component of net periodic pension and post-retirement benefit cost be presented in the same line item as other employee compensation costs, while the other components be presented separately as non-operating income (expense). The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB clarified its guidance to simplify the measurement of goodwill by eliminating the Step 2 impairment test. The new guidance requires companies to perform the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2021. The amendment is required to be adopted prospectively. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB clarified its guidance on the definition of a business in accounting for transactions when determining whether they represent acquisitions or disposals of assets or of a business. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019. The amendment is required to be adopted prospectively. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB amended its guidance on the classification and presentation of restricted cash in the statement of cash flow. The amendment requires entities to include restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in its cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019 with early adoption permitted. The amendment is required to be adopted retrospectively. The amendment is not expected to have a material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In October 2016, the FASB amended its guidance for tax accounting for intra-entity asset transfers. The amendment removes the prohibition against the immediate recognition of the current and deferred income tax effects of intra-entity transfers of assets other than inventory. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The amendment is required to be adopted on a modified retrospective basis. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments. The amendment was issued to reduce the diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019 with early adoption permitted. The amendment is required to be adopted retrospectively unless it is impracticable. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In June 2016, the FASB issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to impairment of financial instruments. The amendment adds a new impairment model that is based on expected losses rather than incurred losses. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2021 with early adoption permitted beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to employee share-based payments. The amendment simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payments including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2018 with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued a new standard on accounting for leases. The new standard is intended to provide enhanced transparency and comparability by requiring lessees to record right-of-use assets and corresponding lease liabilities on the balance sheet. The new standard will continue to classify leases as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the statement of earnings. The new standard is required to be adopted using a modified retrospective method to each prior reporting period presented with various optional practical expedients. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2020 with early adoption permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this new standard to its consolidated financial statements. In January 2016, the FASB issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to recognition and measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities. The amendment addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019. The Company is evaluating the impact of adopting this amendment to its consolidated financial statements. In July 2015, the FASB issued an amendment to its accounting guidance related to inventory measurement. The amendment requires inventory measured using first-in, first-out (FIFO) or average cost to be subsequently measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value, thereby simplifying the current guidance that requires an entity to measure inventory at the lower of cost or market. The amendment will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2018. The amendment is not expected to have a material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In May 2014, the FASB issued a new revenue standard, which sets forth a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers to improve comparability. The new standard requires revenue recognition to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In March 2016, the FASB amended the principal-versus-agent implementation guidance and illustrations in the new standard. In April 2016, the FASB amended the guidance on identifying performance obligations and the implementation guidance on licensing in the new standard. In May 2016, the FASB amended the guidance on collectability, noncash consideration, presentation of sales tax and transition in the new standard. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning in its first quarter of fiscal year 2019, with early adoption permitted, but not before the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. The new standard can be applied either retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented (i.e., full retrospective adoption) or with the cumulative effect of initially applying the update recognized at the date of the initial application (i.e., modified retrospective adoption) along with additional disclosures. The Company currently anticipates adopting this standard using the full retrospective method to restate each prior period presented. The timing of the Company's adoption using the full retrospective method depends on the system readiness, including software capabilities from third-party providers, and completing its analysis to restate prior period consolidated financial statements. The Company will finalize the timing of adoption during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017. While the Company still continues to assess the impact of this standard, the Company currently believes that some of the significantly impacted areas are the transfer of control / removal of contingent revenue cap, the elimination of mandatory revenue deferral for software extended payment terms and the removal of the vendor-specific objective evidence requirement for separation of bundled software products. The Company will continue to monitor and evaluate the effect that the standard will have on its consolidated financial statements, including disclosures, and preliminary assessments are subject to change.