JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background. Health artificial-intelligence (AI) investment is accelerating across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), yet the region's health-AI research output has never been systematically quantified. National research capacity is a structural precondition for the safe local development and governance of clinical AI, but no scientometric baseline exists for the six GCC states. We characterize the volume, growth, collaboration structure and thematic composition of GCC health-AI research, and examine whether national output aligns with an existing measure of informatics readiness. Methods. We conducted an ecological scientometric analysis of all health-AI publications affiliated to the six GCC states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) for 2011–2024, using the open bibliographic database OpenAlex. A publication was eligible if it carried both an AI-family and a health/medicine-family concept above a 0.30 relevance threshold. Bibliometric indicators (output, compound annual growth, per-capita intensity, citation impact, international and intra-regional collaboration, institutional concentration) were computed; co-authorship and concept co-occurrence networks were constructed and clustered by modularity. National health-AI intensity was correlated (Spearman) with the Health Informatics Readiness Index (HIRI) and Global Digital Health Monitor (GDHM) phase. Results. Of 112,480 GCC-affiliated AI publications, 3,512 met the health-AI definition. Regional output rose from 18 (2011) to 904 (2024) publications per year (compound annual growth 35.2%), with 86.4% published from 2020 onward and a sharp inflection across 2019–2021. Saudi Arabia contributed 59.6% of output and, with the UAE, 81.5%; on a per-capita basis Qatar led (≈136 publications per million population). International collaboration predominated (72.6% of papers) over intra-GCC collaboration (9.9%), the latter inversely related to national output. The principal external partners were India, the United States, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and Egypt. Output spanned 3,186 institutions; concentration ranged from 89.4% (Qatar, top three institutions) to 34.4% (Saudi Arabia). Concept co-occurrence resolved into four themes — classical machine-learning clinical prediction, medical imaging and oncology, COVID-19 response, and diabetic eye disease. Health-AI intensity correlated with HIRI (ρ = +0.60) but absolute output did not (ρ = +0.09); absolute output tracked GDHM phase (ρ = +0.83). Conclusions. GCC health-AI research has grown rapidly but unevenly, is heavily dependent on international collaboration, is concentrated in medical imaging, and—outside Saudi Arabia—remains anchored in single national institutions. Informatics readiness tracks research intensity rather than raw volume. The findings establish a reproducible baseline for monitoring regional health-AI research capacity as GCC health systems move toward clinical AI deployment.