Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2011	Oct. 31, 2010	Oct. 31, 2009
Revenue:
Product leases and royalties	$ 98,369	$ 86,717	$ 76,231
Product sales and service	129,402	114,585	103,113
Other			83
Total revenue	227,771	201,302	179,427
Costs and expenses:
Cost of leases and royalties	34,089	28,008	24,559
Cost of sales and service	51,127	49,324	49,197
Gross profit	142,555	123,970	105,671
Selling, general and administrative	68,609	66,817	63,647
Research and development	27,628	21,811	17,349
Total costs and expenses	181,453	165,960	154,752
Income from operations	46,318	35,342	24,675
Other income (expense):
Interest income	635	577	860
Interest expense	(2,636)	(4,015)	(6,047)
Other, net	(997)	282	731
Total other income (expense)	(2,998)	(3,156)	(4,456)
Loss on early extinguishment of debt		(1,123)	1,841
Income from operations before tax	43,320	31,063	22,060
Income tax provision	11,730	7,980	7,086
Net income	$ 31,590	$ 23,083	$ 14,974
Basic earnings per share (in Dollars per share)	$ 0.58	$ 0.43	$ 0.28
Diluted earnings per share (in Dollars per share)	$ 0.57	$ 0.43	$ 0.28
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in Shares)	54,344	53,258	53,120
Diluted (in Shares)	54,997	54,199	53,449