Balance Sheet Account Details - Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Gross assets	$ 282,371	$ 278,685
Accumulated amortization	(183,716)	(156,254)
Total	$ 98,655	122,431
Purchased technology
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life (years)	9 years 1 month 6 days
Gross assets	$ 112,725	112,100
Accumulated amortization	(78,204)	(71,426)
Total	$ 34,521	40,674
Customer relationships
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life (years)	7 years
Gross assets	$ 122,690	122,584
Accumulated amortization	(77,281)	(60,688)
Total	$ 45,409	61,896
License agreements
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life (years)	9 years 10 months 24 days
Gross assets	$ 6,511	6,518
Accumulated amortization	(5,658)	(5,312)
Total	$ 853	1,206
Patent and trademark costs
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life (years)	10 years 9 months 18 days
Gross assets	$ 28,740	28,740
Accumulated amortization	(15,736)	(13,038)
Total	$ 13,004	15,702
Software development costs
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Weighted-average useful life (years)	4 years 7 months 6 days
Gross assets	$ 11,705	8,743
Accumulated amortization	(6,837)	(5,790)
Total	$ 4,868	$ 2,953

QUIDEL CORP /DE/ 10-K