Segment and Geographic Area Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) Segment	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Segment and Geographic Area Information [Abstract]
Number of operating segments | Segment									4
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 1,010,800	$ 945,144	$ 931,558	$ 902,423	$ 943,640	$ 883,933	$ 889,541	$ 865,281	$ 3,789,925	$ 3,582,395	$ 3,549,494
Operating profit									1,054,563	1,027,918	999,473
Assets:
Operating assets	1,128,940				945,046				1,128,940	945,046	949,239
Intangible assets, net	12,302,985				8,353,722				12,302,985	8,353,722	6,689,420
Other	893,002				869,597				893,002	869,597	761,526
Total	14,324,927				10,168,365				14,324,927	10,168,365	8,400,185
Capital expenditures									37,305	36,260	37,644
Depreciation and other amortization									240,453	204,261	197,284
Operating Segments [Member] | Medical and Scientific Imaging [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									1,362,813	1,215,318	1,080,309
Operating profit									477,548	441,931	375,867
Assets:
Operating assets	282,437				265,520				282,437	265,520	232,380
Intangible assets, net	4,660,298				4,451,028				4,660,298	4,451,028	3,842,180
Other	154,838				121,461				154,838	121,461	147,529
Capital expenditures									16,098	12,642	11,430
Depreciation and other amortization									119,248	105,928	93,683
Operating Segments [Member] | RF Technology [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									1,210,264	1,033,951	950,227
Operating profit									372,467	312,112	271,177
Assets:
Operating assets	487,936				293,004				487,936	293,004	270,458
Intangible assets, net	6,634,964				2,848,911				6,634,964	2,848,911	1,720,977
Other	156,413				117,596				156,413	117,596	65,636
Capital expenditures									11,536	10,758	10,521
Depreciation and other amortization									82,653	56,877	58,702
Operating Segments [Member] | Industrial Technology [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									706,625	745,381	827,145
Operating profit									202,451	214,538	247,596
Assets:
Operating assets	182,430				182,544				182,430	182,544	220,115
Intangible assets, net	493,924				513,155				493,924	513,155	557,593
Other	88,130				67,832				88,130	67,832	120,681
Capital expenditures									6,590	9,179	10,713
Depreciation and other amortization									18,573	19,912	21,135
Operating Segments [Member] | Energy Systems And Controls [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									510,223	587,745	691,813
Operating profit									129,602	162,128	203,021
Assets:
Operating assets	164,349				194,898				164,349	194,898	219,284
Intangible assets, net	513,799				540,628				513,799	540,628	568,670
Other	134,976				113,014				134,976	113,014	223,831
Capital expenditures									2,218	3,276	4,634
Depreciation and other amortization									19,701	21,254	23,281
Corporate [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									0	0	0
Operating profit									(127,505)	(102,791)	(98,188)
Assets:
Operating assets	11,788				9,080				11,788	9,080	7,002
Intangible assets, net	0				0				0	0	0
Other	$ 358,645				$ 449,694				358,645	449,694	203,849	[1]
Capital expenditures									863	405	346
Depreciation and other amortization									$ 278	$ 290	$ 483

[1] Other assets as of December 31, 2014 have been adjusted by $12,749 due to the adoption of a recent ASU regarding presentation of debt issuance costs (see Note 1).