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Blanka Klimova,1 Petra Maresova,2 Kamil Kuca3,4 1Department of Applied Linguistics, 2Department of Economics, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, 3Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, 4Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic Abstract: At present, the number of elderly people is rapidly increasing, which represents a significant threat in terms of their care when they fall ill. One of the most common aging diseases nowadays is dementia, whose symptoms sooner or later include loss of cognitive functioning. Cognitive disorders can vary from serious mental retardation to inability to recall things, to the loss or disorder of specific cognitive functions such as communication. These disorders not only affect the quality of people’s own life but also impose a substantial burden on their families, particularly on their caregivers. Therefore, the aim of this article is to highlight the role of assistive technologies (ATs) for managing language impairments in dementia in order to improve patients’ quality of life. In addition, ATs focused on training patients’ memory are also mentioned, since they can help patients to maintain their language skills. Furthermore, these ATs can delay the need for institutional care, as well as significantly reduce costs on patient care. The importance of future research in the area of the development of ATs for managing the language impairments in dementia is also discussed. There is a general trend toward the personalization of patient needs and requirements in the area of ATs. For the purpose of this article, a method of literature review of available sources defining language disorders and providing characteristic features of language disorders in dementia is used. In addition, a method of comparison of different research studies exploring ATs focused on delaying language disorders in dementia in order to postpone patients’ need for institutional care is also exploited. Keywords: assistive technologies, dementia, language impairments, improvement

Hana Mohelska,1 Petra Maresova,2 Martin Valis,3 Kamil Kuca4,5 1Department of Management, 2Department of Economy, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Králové, 3Department of Neurology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové and University Hospital Hradec Králové, 4Biomedical Research Centrum, University Hospital Hradec Králové, 5Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Králové, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Abstract: This paper deals with the analysis of the costs, applied, for example, when treating specific diseases – an important aid in prioritizing the process of resource allocation. In our review, the specific disease is dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. This paper aims to provide more information on the partial costs per patient that are calculated according to the aggregated data from publicly available sources as well as from the results of authors’ own investigation. The University Hospital in Hradec Králové and the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic participated in this research. The elementary research objective was to compare the costs per patient diagnosed early onset, to those of the patient diagnosed later. The Czech Republic lacks information regarding dementia. Therefore, these issues require attention. The methods used in this paper included time series analyses, methods of direct questioning, interviews with experts, and analyses of medical documentation. These methods were combined to exploit their particular advantages and to ensure the issues discussed, were covered. The investigation showed that the underpinning of patients with Alzheimer’s disease at early onset is advantageous from an economic perspective, because the cost of outpatient care is much lower compared with that of inpatient care. The international comparisons of the volume of care provided should be approached with great caution. These are based solely on the facts of various expert estimates and are not usually supported by hard data. Yet, they still illustrate the overall view of our ability to take care of people with dementia. According to experts, care in the Czech Republic significantly lags behind the rest of developed Europe. While services are provided to 26% of people with dementia in Germany and 50% in France, the experts estimate that services are provided to only 10% of the population in the Czech Republic. If we were to offer a similar volume of services in the Czech Republic, to the same extent as the average in Europe, we would have to triple the existing capacities. Keywords: mental health expenditure, Czech Republic, dementia, costs, Alzheimer’s disease