Aahana Swrup
Netflix’s ‘Lucca’s World’ is a stirring true-story-inspired Spanish film that revolves around a family that undertakes a seemingly impossible trip in pursuit of a crucial medical treatment. Lucca Anderson is born with Infantile Cerebral Palsy that gravely affects his life as he grows up. As a result, once his epilepsy becomes particularly adverse, his devoted mother, Barbara Anderson, seeks out a solution elsewhere, away from his normal medication. Consequently, she comes across Dr. Kumar and his spectacular machine, the Cytotron, which can possibly be beneficial for Lucca’s condition.
Therefore, the mother decides to embark on the journey to make a trip to India possible for her family to ensure that her son gets access to Kumar’s incredible invention. The Cytotron and Dr. Kumar offer a greatly valuable opportunity to Lucca and his family, becoming crucial pillars in the story of the Andersons. For the same reason, the audience must be intrigued by the real-life counterpart behind this on-screen doctor.
Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar is the Real-Life Inventor of the Cytotron
‘Lucca’s World,’ originally titled ‘Los Dos Hemisferios de Lucca,’ is a cinematic adaptation of the eponymous 2019 book by Barbara Anderson. The book is a biographical account of Barbara and her family’s trip to India, where they sought out Cytotron treatment for young Lucca Anderson. As such, the novel’s real-life roots are directly connected to its on-screen adaptation, rendering Dr. Kumar a dramatized version of the real Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar. Barbara first became aware of Kumar through his groundbreaking technology Cytotron, an effective tool for tissue engineering.
As a result, Barbara was able to reach out to the Banglore-based doctor through a contact at Harvard. Shortly after, the Anderson family embarked on their trip to India in 2017 for Lucca’s 28-day treatment. During this time, the family inevitably grew closer to Kumar, forming a bond with him. In fact, during Lucca’s initial treatment, which showcased improvements in his speech abilities, the kid reportedly said the doctor’s name as his first word. The family went on to take multiple more trips to India to continue treatments for the young boy and have been able to keep Lucca epilepsy-free for five years.
Furthermore, the Andersons maintained their connection to Kumar and were involved with the process of bringing the Cytotron overseas to other countries. In 2019, during Lucca’s second round of treatments, Barbara and her husband, Andres, founded a hospital center in Mexico City. Mexico. The establishment became the first and only official center in all of Latin America to have a revolutionary Cytotron for treatments. Fittingly enough, they named the place after the genius inventor, christening their care center Kumar Center. As such, the close real-life relationship between the Andersons and Kumar remains evident, becoming the inspiration behind the latter’s on-screen character.
Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar is Recognized as one of India’s Top Scientific Personalities
Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar remains one of the most notable faces in various different fields of science. His invention of the Cytotron, which specializes in Degenerative and Regenerative Tissue Engineering—something he started working on as early as 1987—is considered to be a milestone in radiobiology and tissue engineering. He also wrote a book titled Cytonics- A Mystery of the Living Cell, and he has published his work in multiple medical and engineering journals. Currently, he holds patents for this technology in the US, Europe, and China. In 2019, after the machine was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it received the label of a breakthrough for its incredible ability to treat various cancers.
However, the Cytotron is not the only thing he sports patent credits for. Reportedly, the inventor has patents for 15 other inventions, ranging across fields, including Nanotechnology. Kumar is also the founder of Organization De Scalene, which champions and advocates for science and technological advancements in energy, food, healthcare, water, and quality of life. He has been the Global Chairman of the organization since its foundation in 1993 and continues to hold the title.
Kumar is also the chief scientific officer at CARD: The Center for Advanced Research and Development. Therefore, given his remarkable career, it’s no surprise that the scientist was recognized as one of the Top Ten Science Personalities in India by the national government in 2017. More recently, the scientist made headlines again in 2021 with the launch of SHYCOCAN, his app that showcases protected zones—a service that proved to be particularly beneficial in light of the COVID-19 virus. Thus, as Kumar continues to make new advancements, it seems he’s on an ever-expanding road to progress.
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