Some college students have created a new way to set up mobile health clinics throughout the developing world, and they put it on display in Manhattan Wednesday. NY1’s Cheryl Wills filed this report.

A 20-foot long odd-shaped box caused quite a stir at the corner of 68th Street and Park Avenue on Wednesday.

A group of architectural students spent months converting this empty shipping container into a mobile health clinic. And if the idea takes off, it may one day save thousands of lives in third world countries.

“I remembered that we have this huge trade imbalance where all these containers are made in China, filled in China, delivered here and then they sit here empty," said Laurie Garrett of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Officials with the Council on Foreign Relations have filled it with what they call a "Rx in a Box." The indestructible 8x20 container has been retrofitted to house a patient intake room, an exam room and a lab.

Students say this is the ultimate recycling project. The shipping container which once held clothes is offering diagnostic care and privacy.

“You're using resources that are already available and are not being used," said Michael Collard, a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic.

“This is a great resource that can be shipped anywhere, especially for disaster relief for like hurricanes," added classmate Stanislav Vinokur.

It may not seem like much here in the U.S., but in countries like Haiti, where clinics are far and few between, it could be a lifesaving facility.

But it’s not suitable for trauma care or delivering babies, it's set up to help stop the spread of viruses like tuberculosis and HIV.

“Instead we would be looking at pin pricks. Just a little droplet of blood would be enough to diagnose 50 to 60 diseases at once," said Garrett.

Rx in a Box is not ready for mass production just yet. But if the concept takes off, these shipping containers may deliver new hope for people who need it the most.

- Cheryl Wills