| Component: (Network and Table) | |
|---|---|
| Network | 100720 - Disclosure - Segments and Geographic Information - Summary of Significant Revenues in Following Regions (Detail) (http://www.internationalstemcell.com/20161231/taxonomy/role/DisclosureSegmentsAndGeographicInformationSummaryOfSignificantRevenuesInFollowingRegionsDetail) |
| Table | Schedule Of Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Table] |
| Reporting Entity [Axis] | 0001355790 (http://www.sec.gov/CIK) |
| Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items] | Period [Axis] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016-01-01 - 2016-12-31 | 2015-01-01 - 2015-12-31 | |||||||||
| Geographical | Geographical | |||||||||
| North America [Member] | Asia [Member] | Europe [Member] | All Other Regions [Member] | Geographical | North America [Member] | Asia [Member] | Europe [Member] | All Other Regions [Member] | Geographical | |
Total revenues | 7,165,000 | 7,551,000 | ||||||||