Fair Value Measurements (Narrative) (Details) (Beckman Coulter) In Millions, unless otherwise specified		12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Selling, general and administrative expenses USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Selling, general and administrative expenses USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Japanese Yen JPY (¥)
Derivative [Line Items]
Number of Japanese currency swap instruments bought				¥ 184
Exchange rate of Japanese yen per United States dollar				102.25
Aggregate purchase commitment	138			11,900
Pre-tax income related to changes in the fair value of currency swap		$ (22)	$ (8)

Aggregate notional amount of foreign currency derivatives to purchase a foreign currency. Notional amount refers to the number of currency units specified in the foreign currency derivative contract.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 815

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1A

-Subparagraph (d)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=7476318&loc=SL5579245-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Glossary Notional Amount

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6519104

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 815

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1B

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=7476318&loc=SL5580258-113959

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